Lindsey Halligan (The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
The Department of Justice has formally appealed a controversial ruling that disqualified Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a decision that directly led to the dismissal of federal charges against James Comey and Letitia James.
According to a Notice of Appeal filed on December 19, the Trump-led DOJ is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to overturn a lower-court ruling that declared Halligan’s appointment unconstitutional and voided every prosecutorial action she took while in office.
The district court’s order went far beyond a technical dispute. It set aside the indictment of Letitia James, granted her motion to dismiss, and declared that all actions flowing from Halligan’s appointment were unlawful, including securing and signing indictments.
According to Politico, “U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie concluded that Halligan should never have been in the role in the first place because her predecessor, Erik Siebert, had already filled the interim position for a legal maximum of 120 days. And because Halligan was the only prosecutor who signed the Comey and James indictments, Currie concluded that the indictments were defective and had to be tossed.”
For the reasons set forth above, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:
1. The appointment of Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney violated 28 U.S.C. § 546 and the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
2. All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside.
3. The Attorney General’s attempts to ratify Ms. Halligan’s actions were ineffective and are hereby set aside.
4. Mr. Comey’s motion to dismiss the indictment (ECF No. 60) is granted in accordance with this order.
5. The indictment is dismissed without prejudice.
6. The power to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546 during the current vacancy lies with the district court until a U.S. Attorney is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate under 28 U.S.C. § 541.
That ruling effectively handed a massive legal win to the Left, wiping out prosecutions against figures who have relentlessly targeted Trump and his allies.
James Comey, the disgraced former FBI director who launched the Russia hoax, and Letitia James, the hyper-partisan New York AG who built her career on targeting Trump, both benefited directly from the ruling.
In the filing, the Justice Department filed its appeal under 18 U.S.C. § 3731, signaling that the DOJ intends to fight aggressively to resurrect the case.
The filing argues that the district court overstepped by stripping the Executive Branch of its prosecutorial authority and handing interim appointment power to the judiciary itself.
JUST IN: The Justice Department has appealed the disqualification of Lindsey Halligan as U.S. attorney, a ruling that led to the disimssal of charges against James Comey and Letitia James. https://t.co/uVknzrtqJf pic.twitter.com/yVwNGy2hv8
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 19, 2025
The post DOJ Appeals Controversial Ruling That Disqualified Trump-Appointed U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, Resulting in the Dismissal of Charges Against Letitia James and James Comey appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.