Preamble: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi pressed for legal moves after a federal judge tossed criminal charges tied to James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, arguing those cases were tainted by a disputed prosecutor appointment and promising an aggressive appeal while defending her team’s handling of the matter.
Bondi raised her concerns at a Memphis event where she was highlighting the city’s Safe Task Force, using the platform to insist the legal system needs to finish what it started. She said the dismissed indictments were not the end of the road and framed the judge’s decision as a procedural hurdle to be cleared on appeal. Her message was plain: the allegations against powerful public figures deserve a full legal reckoning.
The dismissal came after U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie ruled the indictments flawed because the prosecutor who brought the cases had not been lawfully appointed, a finding that undercut the formal charging documents. Defense teams for both defendants had stressed those procedural gaps from the start, arguing the appointments and paperwork left the cases vulnerable. That technical ruling is now the hinge of an immediate appellate push from the Justice Department.
Comey faces allegations tied to his 2018 testimony about the origins of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation and was indicted in September 2025 on counts alleging false statements to Congress and obstruction of a congressional inquiry. Comey has denied wrongdoing and pushed back hard against the charges at every turn, insisting his memory and motive were honest. He said his testimony was “truthful to the best of my recollection” and blasted the case as “a political hit job, not a pursuit of justice.”
Letitia James was separately indicted in October 2025 on mortgage and bank-fraud counts tied to a 2020 Virginia home purchase, accused of misrepresenting the property as a secondary residence to secure better loan terms. Prosecutors say she improperly benefited by nearly $19,000 over the life of the loan, an allegation that cuts straight to trust and accountability for elected officials. Those charges have complicated the public narratives around both figures and added fuel to the partisan debate over prosecutorial priorities.
Bondi did not mince words about her next steps. “We’ll be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal, to hold Letitia James and James Comey accountable for their unlawful conduct,” she told reporters, laying out a plan to claw back the cases into a court that can rule on their substance rather than their procedural wrapping. She doubled down on the seriousness of the allegations, saying “I’m not worried about someone who has been charged with a very serious crime,” and adding bluntly that “His alleged actions were a betrayal of public trust,” signaling a prosecutorial posture that prioritizes follow-through over the optics of a temporary setback.
The appointment at the center of the dispute was tied to Halligan, a former Trump legal aide who was the only federal prosecutor to sign Comey’s indictment while acting as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Defense lawyers seized on that fact to argue the cases were built on shaky ground, pointing to a chain of appointments and approvals that they say never satisfied federal law. That procedural focus has forced the Justice Department to shift gears from charging to justifying the pathway by which charges were brought.
Bondi made a point of defending the prosecutor personally and professionally during her remarks in Memphis, asserting confidence in the team that moved the cases forward. “We have made Lindsay Halligan a special US attorney so she is in court, she can fight in court just like she was, and we believe we will be successful on appeal,” she said, signaling the administration’s commitment to maintain the prosecutions. She went further in praise, saying “And I’ll tell you, Lindsay Halligan, I talked to all of our US attorneys, the majority of them around the country, and Lindsay Halligan is an excellent US attorney. And shame on them for not wanting her in office. Thank you,” she added, framing the debate as one about competence and legitimacy as much as law.
With the indictments sent back by Judge Currie, the immediate path forward is appellate court work and renewed legal briefing that will test both the appointment procedures and the underlying merits. Bondi has chosen to make the fight public, turning courtroom procedure into a matter of political accountability as much as legal process. The next phase will be fought in filings and hearings, and both sides are clearly preparing for months of argument ahead.
