A collage of New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey./SCREENGRAB
A judge has dismissed charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The judge ruled that the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as interim US Attorney was unlawful Comey and James have argued the indictments brought against them by Trump's Department of Justice were politically motivated.
Comey was charged with making false statements and obstruction of justice in September, after President Donald Trump called for his prosecution and appointed a new federal prosecutor to pursue the case.
Lawyers for the justice department argued that Comey was charged simply for lying to Congress and Trump was sharing his thoughts, not ordering a prosecution.
Letitia James, whose case was also dismissed, said she was 'heartened' by the victory after the judge tossed the case.
"I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country. I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day."
Comey was the FBI Director for nearly four years, from 2013 to 2017. He was fired about four months into Donald Trump’s first term as US president.
Comey played a dramatic and controversial role in the closing stages of the 2016 election when he announced, a week before the vote, that the FBI had reopened an investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server.
He was criticised first by Democrats for the timing, then by Republicans when he said a week later that no charges would be brought.
As FBI director, he led an investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The Trump administration first claimed Comey's handling of the Clinton email investigation rendered him no longer able to lead the bureau. Trump contradicted this, calling him a "showboat" in a TV interview and saying he was thinking of the "Russia thing" when he made the decision to sack him.
Since then, Comey has been highly critical of the Trump administration.
Comey was arraigned in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on 8 October.
Under direct pressure from US President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice charged Comey in September with one count of making false statements and another of obstruction of justice.
Both charges relate to statements Comey made to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020 when he was questioned about his handling of the DOJ’s probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails and about an investigation into pro-Trump election interference by Russia.
At the arraignment—the defendant’s first court appearance in the case—the charges were formally presented to Comey, who entered a not guilty plea. Comey has maintained his innocence and said in a video statement following the indictment “let’s go to trial”.
In the lead-up to the indictment, Trump repeatedly called on Bondi to prosecute his political and administerial adversaries, including Comey, in what critics have called a blatant weaponisation of the Justice Department.
