The Justice Department (DOJ) is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that dismissed indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after failing to secure grand jury indictments a second time
This past September, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Comey on two counts: making a false statement to Congress (18 U.S.C. § 1001) and obstructing a congressional proceeding (18 U.S.C. § 1505). The charges stemmed from his September 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the FBI’s thoroughly-debunked Russia investigation.
Prosecutors had alleged that he misled lawmakers about leaks and his handling of sensitive information.
In October 2025, the same grand jury indicted James on two counts: bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344) and making false statements to a financial institution (18 U.S.C. § 1014). The allegations involved her 2020 purchase of a property in Norfolk, Virginia, where she allegedly misrepresented it as a secondary residence to obtain favorable mortgage terms, rather than disclosing it as an investment property.
The indictments were secured by Lindsey Halligan, whom Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in September.
Halligan, a former White House aide and Trump attorney, was appointed after the previous interim U.S. attorney, Erik Siebert, departed amid reports of resistance to pursuing these cases.
The cases only lasted until November, however, as U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie (sitting by designation) dismissed both indictments without prejudice. Currie ruled that Halligan’s appointment was unlawful under federal law (28 U.S.C. § 546) and the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, as the attorney general’s authority to appoint an interim U.S. attorney had expired 120 days after Siebert’s initial appointment.
Because Halligan was the sole prosecutor who presented the cases to the grand juries and signed the indictments, Currie found that her actions were invalid and must be set aside.
Following the dismissals, DOJ attempted to secure new indictments against James through grand juries earlier this month, but both efforts failed, with jurors declining to return charges. For Comey, additional obstacles arose, including a judicial block on accessing certain evidence and the expiration of the five-year statute of limitations on the underlying offenses.
On Friday, the Justice Department filed notices of appeal in both cases to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The appeals challenge Currie’s determination that Halligan’s appointment was invalid and seek to reinstate the original indictments.
The move will likely provide the last opportunity to secure an indictment against Comey for the charges brought against him, as the five-year statute of limitations for the underlying offense is set to expire.
