James Comey asks judge to toss criminal case, says Trump-picked prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was appointed unlawfully

Key Points

Former FBI Director James Comey on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss his criminal case, arguing that he is being vindictively prosecuted because of President Donald Trump’s animus toward him.

Comey, in a pair of motions for dismissal filed in federal court in eastern Virginia, also argued that the indictment against him is fatally flawed because his prosecutor, interim U.S. AttorneyLindsey Halligan, was appointed unlawfully.

Comey wants U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled.

“Any lesser remedy would be insufficient in light of the government’s flagrant misconduct and the need to deter the government from bringing further unconstitutional prosecutions,” his lawyers wrote in one of the court motions.

In the other filing, Comey’s legal team argued that Halligan’s actions should be nullified because she was “defectively” installed in violation of a federal law governing the appointment of interim U.S. attorneys by the attorney general.

“The United States cannot charge, maintain, and prosecute a case through an official who has no entitlement to exercise governmental authority,” the lawyers wrote.

Comey, a former Trump administration official who has long been seen as a political enemy by the president, was charged in late September with one count each of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding.

The charges pertain to Comey’s testimony before the Senate in September 2020. The indictment was returned less than a week before a five-year statute of limitations was set to expire.