A United States federal judge has thrown out the criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and James Comey, the former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).On Monday, District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie determined that the prosecutor overseeing the two cases, Lindsey Halligan, had been illegally appointed, which in turn rendered the indictments void.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe decision is a major setback for the administration of President Donald Trump, who personally petitioned for criminal charges against James and Comey.But the legal odyssey for James and Comey, both prominent Trump critics, may not be over yet.In dismissing the criminal charges, Currie rendered her verdict without prejudice, meaning that both cases could be refiled.She did, however, rule that Halligan “had no legal authority” to bring the indictments, leaving questions about the future of her role as prosecutor.Trump names Halligan as prosecutorHalligan had been appointed in September to serve as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.Trump had a public falling-out with Halligan’s predecessor, Erik Siebert, who reportedly refused to file charges against James due to a lack of evidence.That sparked outrage in the White House. Siebert announced his resignation on September 19, and the following day, Trump took to social media to declare that he had fired the prosecutor himself.“He even lied to the media and said he quit, and that we had no case,” Trump wrote …
