James Comey calls for dismissal of charges, challenges Trump prosecutor Halligan

Former FBI Director James Comey asked a federal judge Monday to dismiss his criminal case, arguing he was being vindictively prosecuted because of President Donald Trump’s animosity toward him.

Comey, in two motions for dismissal filed in federal court in Eastern Virginia, also argued that the indictment against him was fatally flawed because his prosecutor, Acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, was illegally appointed.

Comey wants U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” meaning the government cannot appeal the decision.

“Any lesser remedy would be insufficient in light of the government’s egregious misconduct and the need to deter the government from further unconstitutional proceedings,” his lawyers wrote in one of the motions filed with the court.

In the other filing, Comey’s legal team argued that Halligan’s actions should be overturned because she was installed “in a defective manner,” in violation of a federal law governing the attorney general’s appointment of acting U.S. attorneys.

“The United States cannot charge, maintain, and prosecute a case through an official who has no right to exercise governmental authority,” the lawyers wrote.

Comey, a former Trump administration official who has long been considered a political enemy by the president, was indicted in late September on one count each of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding.

The charges relate to Comey’s testimony before the Senate in September 2020. The indictment was handed down less than a week before a five-year statute of limitations expired.

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