A federal judge has dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump's urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. The rulings from U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie amount to a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration's efforts to target Trump's political opponents as well as its legal maneuvering to hastily install a loyalist prosecutor willing to file the cases. The orders make Lindsey Halligan the latest Trump administration prosecutor to be disqualified because of the manner in which they were appointed.
President Donald Trump's retribution campaign against his perceived political enemies has reached new heights as his Justice Department brings criminal charges against a longtime foe and he expands his efforts to classify certain liberal groups as "domestic terrorist organizations." Ex-FBI Director James Comey was indicted by a grand jury Thursday and accused of lying to Congress in a hastily brought case days after the Republican president publicly demanded action. Hours earlier, Trump signed a memorandum directing his administration to target backers of what they dubbed "left-wing terrorism" as he alleged without evidence a vast conspiracy by nonprofit groups and activists to finance violent protests. Trump says "it's about justice." Comey says he's innocent.
