President Trump’s lawfare revenge tour has gone bust. A judge on Monday dismissed the Justice Department’s cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that Lindsey Halligan wasn’t properly appointed as federal prosecutor and had no authority to indict.
In its rush for retribution, the Trump Administration cut corners.
Under the law, when a U.S. Attorney’s office becomes vacant, a President may temporarily fill the job for 120 days, after which the district court is supposed to get the power to fill the role.
Congress wrote the law that way to ensure the Justice Department wouldn’t be left short-handed, while also protecting the Senate’s advise-and-consent power over nominees.
In January, after Mr. Trump’s inauguration, the Administration named Erik Siebert as interim prosecutor for Eastern Virginia. Once his 120-day lease was set to expire, the judges of the district chose to retain him.
But Mr. Siebert was reluctant to charge Mr. Comey and Ms. James, as Mr. Trump demanded, and he stepped down in September. Then the Administration purported to install Ms. Halligan, who had no experience as a prosecutor.
In the White House’s view, Mr. Siebert’s exit gave Mr. Trump the opportunity to name another interim prosecutor for a new 120-day term.
But that isn’t what the law says, according to Monday’s analysis by Judge Cameron McGowan Currie. As he explains, that interpretation would let the President “evade the Senate confirmation process indefinitely by stacking successive 120-day appointments.”
The vacancy law is designed for a temporary fill-in, not Senate circumvention. Ms. Halligan “has been unlawfully serving,” the judge concludes, and her efforts on indicting Mr. Comey and Ms. James were “unlawful exercises of executive power.”
This is what happens when officials don’t follow legal procedure. They lose cases.
Mr. Trump was so eager to indict his enemies, and Attorney General Pam Bondi was so quick to go along, that it all unraveled at the pull of one legal thread.
The Trump Administration could refile the charges, though the statute of limitations may have expired in Mr. Comey’s case. If Mr. Trump tries again, he might end up with cases that are two-time legal losers.
