Date Set for Trump’s Bid To Resurrect Troubled Prosecutions Against James Comey and Letitia James

The Fourth United States Appeals Circuit has set a September 15 date for oral arguments over the dismissal of the cases against James Comey and Letitia James, offering the Trump administration an opportunity to revive its prosecutions. Criminal charges brought in Virginia against the former FBI director and New York’s attorney general were dismissed in November. The dismissal followed Judge Cameron McGowan Currie’s ruling that the prosecutor in charge, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi.Ms. Halligan continued to serve as a prosecutor despite the ruling. In December, one month after Ms. Halligan’s disqualification, Judge David Novak ruled that Ms. Halligan’s “continued identification of herself as the United States Attorney for this District ignores a binding court order and may not continue.” He threatened her with disciplinary action if she did not abide by the disqualification. In January, Ms. Halligan departed the Justice Department. The Department of Justice immediately appealed that ruling to the Fourth Circuit. Mr. Comey was charged with lying to Congress in 2020 about leaks in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Ms. James was charged with fraud for allegedly lying on mortgage applications relating to a modest home at Norfolk, Virginia. Neither case reached trial.There’s not a little irony in the charging of Ms. James with bank fraud after she secured, in 2023, a $500 million civil fraud verdict against Mr. Trump, his two eldest sons, and their business. The presiding judge, Arthur Engoron, found that Mr. Trump’s business operations were marred by “persistent fraud.” A state appellate court, though, found that the penalty imposed by Judge Engoron was so large as to violate the Constitution’s prohibition on “excessive fines.” The appeals court, though, kept the underlying verdict intact. Both Mr. Trump and Ms. James have appealed. After the charges were dismissed, the DOJ convened two more grand juries to reindict Ms. James, but neither consented to hand up charges. The department abjured that strategy with respect to Mr. Comey, likely because the timeline of his case was trickier — the statute of limitations expired right after the charges were filed. Even if the DOJ does manage to reinstate the case, Mr. Comey could argue that the expiration of the deadline precludes his prosecution.Mr. Comey, unlike Ms. James, faces an entirely new prosecution. In April the DOJ, now under the leadership of Ms. Bondi’s successor, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, indicted Mr. Comey on two counts for threatening to kill Mr. Trump. The charges stem from an Instagram post of Mr. Comey’s that featured seashells arranged on a beach in an “86 47” formation. “86” is restaurant slang for “to get rid of.” The second number refers to Mr. Trump’s place in presidential history.If Mr. Comey is convicted on both counts, he could face a decade in prison. In May the lead prosecutor, Matthew Petracca, stepped down from the case. He was replaced by assistant United States attorney Timothy Severo. The Justice Department issued a statement declaring that “This move has nothing to do with the merits of any case. Offices balance resources across shifting civil and criminal dockets, and roster changes are common.” Mr. Comey has until next week to move to dismiss the case before it goes to trial. He has already indicated that he will seek to do so on the grounds that it amounts to a “selective and vindictive” prosecution — grounds for automatic dismissal. The bar to make that claim is high, though, and requires the defendant to show that a similarly situated person would not have been charged. Prosecutors, though, are afforded wide discretion.Mr. Comey made the argument that he was selectively and vindictively prosecuted in his earlier perjury case, but the disqualification of Ms. Halligan — who was never confirmed by the Senate and was installed on a temporary basis that expired — took precedence. Those grounds for dismissal will be reexamined if the Fourth Circuit revives the case. The arguments in September will be heard by a three judge panel, with the participants announced the morning the session is set to convene.

Date Set for Trump’s Bid To Resurrect Troubled Prosecutions Against James Comey and Letitia James

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