A federal judge has thrown out criminal charges against two high-profile targets of former President Donald Trump: FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The judge, Cameron McGowan Currie, ruled that Lindsey Halligan, the Trump-appointed US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia who secured the indictment against Comey and James, was illegally appointed to her position.
The decision comes after Halligan's conduct in presenting the indictments against Comey came under scrutiny from three different judges. A magistrate judge determined that Halligan may have committed other significant legal errors in instructing and presenting evidence to the same grand jury. The Department of Justice denied any misconduct by Halligan, arguing that the magistrate judge's ruling was based on misinterpretations and assumptions.
Comey has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, which allege that he made false statements and obstructed a congressional investigation. He has argued that Halligan was unlawfully appointed as interim US attorney, that the case was an improper "vindictive" prosecution engineered by Trump, and that the substance of the false statement allegation was legally flawed.
The charges against James were also dismissed, with the judge ruling that Halligan had "no lawful authority" to present the indictment to her. Lawyers for Comey argued that when Halligan secured the indictment, the clock for a temporary US attorney had been run out by her predecessor, Erik Siebert, who had already served for 120 days.
The dismissal of charges against the two targets is a significant blow to Trump's efforts to target his opponents through the justice system. It also comes as Trump faces criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike over his handling of the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his attempts to undermine the Democratic-led investigation into Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has announced that it is investigating veteran and sitting Democratic senator Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after he called on active-duty military personnel to "refuse illegal orders" in a social media video. The department said that Kelly's statements had interfered with the "loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces," and that it was initiating a review to determine further actions.
In other news, former President Barack Obama has been named as one of the most admired men in America by Gallup, with 17% of respondents naming him as one of their top five. Melania Trump received the White House Christmas tree, which will be displayed in the Blue Room.
The decision comes after Halligan's conduct in presenting the indictments against Comey came under scrutiny from three different judges. A magistrate judge determined that Halligan may have committed other significant legal errors in instructing and presenting evidence to the same grand jury. The Department of Justice denied any misconduct by Halligan, arguing that the magistrate judge's ruling was based on misinterpretations and assumptions.
Comey has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, which allege that he made false statements and obstructed a congressional investigation. He has argued that Halligan was unlawfully appointed as interim US attorney, that the case was an improper "vindictive" prosecution engineered by Trump, and that the substance of the false statement allegation was legally flawed.
The charges against James were also dismissed, with the judge ruling that Halligan had "no lawful authority" to present the indictment to her. Lawyers for Comey argued that when Halligan secured the indictment, the clock for a temporary US attorney had been run out by her predecessor, Erik Siebert, who had already served for 120 days.
The dismissal of charges against the two targets is a significant blow to Trump's efforts to target his opponents through the justice system. It also comes as Trump faces criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike over his handling of the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and his attempts to undermine the Democratic-led investigation into Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has announced that it is investigating veteran and sitting Democratic senator Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after he called on active-duty military personnel to "refuse illegal orders" in a social media video. The department said that Kelly's statements had interfered with the "loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces," and that it was initiating a review to determine further actions.
In other news, former President Barack Obama has been named as one of the most admired men in America by Gallup, with 17% of respondents naming him as one of their top five. Melania Trump received the White House Christmas tree, which will be displayed in the Blue Room.
just another example of how deep the rabbit hole goes 
... it's like they say, "you can't serve justice with a broken system" 
and now these two high-profile targets are free to clear their names... but what about all the others who got caught up in the mess? 
meanwhile, Obama being named most admired man is kinda cool, but what does that really mean? 
a judge just threw out all the charges against comey & james!!! its like trump thought he was above the law lol idk what's going on with this justice system rn but i guess halligan got busted for being illegally appointed & all that jazz... poor guy didn't stand a chance 
anyway, this is def a win for democracy & stuff... meanwhile, mark kelly is getting investigated by the pentagon for saying something about refusin illegal orders lol like, what's next? 
congrats to him!
. I mean, think about it - if the system fails to hold someone accountable for their actions, we're basically giving them a free pass to do whatever they want without consequences 
. And in a world where information spreads like wildfire on social media, accountability is crucial to maintaining trust and legitimacy 
.
. And secondly, it highlights the importance of transparency and checks and balances in our system of governance 
. If we don't have these safeguards in place, we're basically just playing Russian roulette with our democracy 
.
. and now mark kelly is getting heat for speaking out about refusing illegal orders - can't they just let folks do their jobs without worrying about repercussions? 
he's been going after his opponents left and right, but it looks like the law is finally catching up with him. I mean, good riddance to this whole investigation thing... let's just focus on making America chill again 
. I mean, who appoints a US attorney without going through proper channels? It's just so amateurish from the Trump administration 
. And now that Lindsey Halligan is being taken down for her "mistakes", it's all just a huge mess 
. Anyway, this just goes to show that the Trump administration has no qualms about undermining the justice system and trampling on everyone else's rights 
. Can't wait to see what other "surprises" they have in store for us 
. It makes you wonder what's really going on behind the scenes, and how much power can one person actually wield? I mean, think about it - Lindsey Halligan was appointed to her position without following due process, and that led to all these high-profile charges being thrown out 
