Judge throws out case against former FBI head Comey
Cases against two high-profile figures, including ex-FBI director James Comey, have been thrown out by a federal judge.
Source: X
A federal judge has dismissed the charges against Trump critics, ex-FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling the prosecutor who brought the cases was improperly appointed.
Judge Cameron McGowan Currie found on Monday (US time) that US President Donald Trump’s appointment of interim Attorney Lindsey Halligan in Alexandria, Virginia, was invalid.
“All actions flowing from Ms Halligan’s defective appointment were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside,” she said.
Comey had launched a multipronged effort to have the charges dismissed before a trial.
“I am grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence,” he said in a statement after the ruling.
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He said the prosecution was “a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking”.
Comey maintained his innocence and said he was “not afraid”.
“A message has to be sent that the president cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies,” he said.
“I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again.”
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The prosecution accused Comey of lying to a Senate committee when he said he stood behind prior testimony denying that he authorised disclosures about FBI investigations to the news media.
His lawyers pointed to Trump’s years of social media broadsides against Comey dating to his firing in 2017. Comey later called Trump unfit for office.
Shortly after the ruling, the White House issued a short statement.
“The facts of the indictments against Comey and James have not changed and this will not be the final word on this matter,” Trump spokesperson Abigail Jackson said.
The charges in the cases of Comey, James and Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton breached a long-standing Justice Department practise of political independence in criminal investigations.
The prosecution accused Comey of lying to a Senate committee when he said he stood behind prior testimony denying that he authorised disclosures about FBI investigations to the news media.
-with AAP
