Overview
- The department filed notices of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit after the dismissals of both indictments.
- Senior U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled on Nov. 24 that Halligan’s interim appointment violated 28 U.S.C. § 546 and the Appointments Clause, ordering all actions she took to be set aside.
- Prosecutors twice failed to re-indict Letitia James, with grand juries in Norfolk on Dec. 4 and Alexandria on Dec. 11 returning no true bills.
- A bid to seal one of the no-bill outcomes was rejected by U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Porter, leaving the denial publicly visible on the docket.
- Efforts to revive charges against James Comey face steep hurdles because the five-year statute of limitations has lapsed and a D.C. judge restricted use of key seized evidence, even as DOJ leaders continue to defend Halligan’s role.