Judge Asks DOJ Lawyer If He Thinks Documents Case Was Wrongly Dismissed in Comey Oral Arguments

Judge Cameron McGowan Currie announced Thursday that she would rule by Thanksgiving whether to disqualify Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor who convinced grand juries to bring charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Both Comey and James argue that Halligan’s appointment as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia violated the Constitution’s appointments clause. They’re asking the judge to disqualify Halligan and throw out the charges against them.

The president appoints and the Senate confirms U.S. attorneys, but the law provides for the attorney general to choose an interim U.S. attorney to serve for 120 days. President Donald Trump reportedly pressured the Justice Department to target political foes such as Comey and James, and when Halligan’s predecessor, Erik Siebert, declined to bring charges, he ousted him. Attorney General Pam Bondi then appointed Halligan. Comey and James argue that Siebert’s tenure used up the 120 days.

Currie, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, heard the arguments at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, though she serves as a senior district judge in South Carolina.

During the hearing, Currie said a section of the grand jury transcript in Comey’s case is “missing,” suggesting that “there was no court reporter present” or the reporter stopped taking notes, CNN reported.

Bondi said she reviewed the presentations as part of the government’s arguments, but Currie said the missing section demonstrated Bondi had not reviewed them.

“It became obvious to me that the attorney general could not have reviewed” the proceeding, the judge said.

Currie also pressed a Justice Department attorney on whether a judge’s decision to dismiss the classified documents case against Trump was incorrect.

Judge Aileen Cannon had found that then-special counsel Jack Smith had been wrongly appointed because the Senate had not confirmed him.

DOJ lawyer Henry Whitaker responded, “I think it’s certainly not controlling here,” and noted that the special counsel had authority that differed from a typical U.S. attorney.

“You wouldn’t have appointed Jack Smith” as a U.S. attorney, Whitaker argued, because he didn’t meet the qualifications for the job.

Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation, while James has pleaded not guilty to mortgage fraud charges.

Comey and James argue that the charges represent political retribution against them. James campaigned on bringing charges against Trump and brought a fraud case against the former president. While James secured a $355 million penalty against Trump, an appeals court later vacated it.

Comey, meanwhile, oversaw the FBI during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, later dubbed “Russiagate,” in which the FBI surveilled Trump campaign officials based on the allegation that the president had been in league with Russia. Earlier this year, Comey posted a photo with seashells spelling out “8647,” an apparent reference to getting rid of Trump. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said this message had inspired threats against the president.

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