01What happened
In the fall of 2025, the Justice Department indicted former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, two of the president's most prominent critics. Both pleaded not guilty.
The cases were brought by Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to the president with no prior prosecutorial experience, who was installed as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after the previous interim U.S. attorney, Erik Siebert, was effectively forced out amid pressure to file charges.
02The dismissal
In November 2025, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie dismissed both indictments. She found that Halligan's appointment violated federal law and the Constitution's Appointments Clause, making her actions in bringing the cases unlawful. The dismissals were without prejudice, meaning charges could in theory be refiled by a properly appointed prosecutor.
The Justice Department appealed. On September 15, 2026, a federal appeals panel hearing the case expressed skepticism about reviving the prosecutions and appeared poised to uphold the dismissals.
03Why the process matters as much as the outcome
The rule that prosecutors must be lawfully appointed is not a loophole. It exists so that the enormous power to charge a citizen with a crime is exercised by officials accountable under the Constitution, not by whoever will do what they are told. When a prosecutor is removed for not bringing a case and replaced by one who will, the appointment is the story.
The President of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies.
04The broader pattern
The Comey and James cases are the clearest examples of a wider concern: that federal law enforcement is being directed at critics, while allies receive pardons. A healthy Justice Department is independent in its charging decisions, follows long standing norms limiting White House contact on specific cases, and does not treat loyalty as a qualification.
- Restore written limits on White House contact with the Justice Department about individual cases.
- Tighten rules on interim and acting U.S. attorney appointments so they cannot be used to bypass Senate confirmation.
- Strengthen protections for career prosecutors who refuse to bring cases they believe lack merit.
- Use congressional oversight to document how and why these cases were brought.
05The standard we want applied to everyone
The answer to a weaponized Justice Department is not a Justice Department weaponized in the other direction. It is one that applies the same standard to a former FBI director, a state attorney general, a cabinet secretary, and a president: evidence, lawful process, and independent judgment. Anyone who wants accountability for this administration should want that standard most of all.
Opinion and analysis from the Feed After Midnight editorial desk. Facts, figures, and quotes are drawn from the reporting listed in the sources below and reflect what was known on the publish date.
Frequently asked questions
Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled in November 2025 that Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who brought the cases, was unlawfully appointed, so her actions in bringing the indictments were invalid.