Politics
NEW: James Comey’s Legal Team Launches Efforts To Dismiss Indictment
Lawyers for former FBI Director James Comey told a federal judge on Tuesday that they plan to file a motion next week seeking to have the case dismissed, claiming that President Donald Trump’s appointment of Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia where the case is based, was “unlawful.”
The filing is part of a broader effort by Comey’s team to have the lawsuit tossed, Fox News reported. His legal team further told the judge overseeing the case last week that they plan to file a separate motion seeking to dismiss the case over “vindictive prosecution.”
Tuesday’s filing is not a formal motion, but rather a notice to the court that they plan to challenge Halligan’s appointment as acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Doing so will require an “out-of-district judge” to hear the motion, Comey’s lawyers noted in the filing.
Last month, Trump announced that he would be appointing Halligan as the top prosecutor in the district, replacing interim attorney Erik Siebert, who resigned after refusing to pursue indictments against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Comey’s legal team stated that they believe Trump’s decision to appoint Halligan just three days before the indictment could strengthen their case. “We think that’s an unlawful appointment,” they said.
On September 25, Comey was indicted on two federal counts, one for making false statements while testifying before Congress and another for obstruction of justice.
The indictment alleges that Comey obstructed a congressional investigation into the disclosure of sensitive information in violation of 18 USC 1505. It also alleges that the former director made a false statement when he did not authorize someone at the FBI to serve as an “anonymous source” in order to leak classified materials to outlets like the New York Times.
Halligan, a former insurance attorney in Florida, has said that the charges against Comey “represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust.”
“No one is above the law,” she told reporters after the indictment was announced.
Comey’s efforts to have the indictment tossed were not the only significant developments in the case Tuesday. Hours beforehand, U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff rejected the Justice Department’s request to limit the former FBI director’s access to “protected” discovery materials being used in the criminal case.
Nachmanoff, a Clinton appointee, said in his order that the government is obligated to share all discovery materials in the case with Comey’s legal team, including those classified as “protected.” Prosecutors had argued that Comey could not be trusted to handle the materials.
Blocking Comey’s ability to access the materials in question would “unnecessarily hinder and delay” the former director’s ability to prepare for his criminal case, the judge said. “Protective orders addressing the confidentiality and privacy interests of others should not override a defendant’s right to a fair trial,” Nachmanoff added.
