Trump tries to revive indictments against political foes at Fourth Circuit

A Fourth Circuit panel reviewed the government's appeal of dismissed indictments against FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both prosecuted after Lindsey Halligan was installed as interim U.S. attorney without Senate confirmation. Halligan replaced Erik Siebert after he declined to bring charges against James, then quickly secured indictments against both Comey and James, which a district judge dismissed in November for improper appointment.

The government argues the attorney general can appoint an unlimited succession of interim U.S. attorneys past the 120-day statutory limit, bypassing both Senate confirmation and district court authority; Comey and James's attorneys call this a 250-year break from precedent designed to let a president install political allies as prosecutors. A government attorney insisted the administration is incentivized to work with district courts, an argument one appellate judge noted confuses incentive with legal compliance.

Attorney General Pam Bondi later attempted to ratify the indictments to fix any defect, prompting a judge to ask where that logic stops, since a private citizen with no legal standing also secured a grand jury indictment. Three other circuit courts have already ruled against the administration's appointment approach.

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