Former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax on Monday that the indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James were dismissed because interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan exceeded the statute's 120-day limit.
Senior U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled on Monday that Halligan lacked the authority to bring charges against Comey and James because she had exceeded the 120-day limit on her tenure.
Napolitano said in an interview on "Newsline" shortly after the decision was announced that Currie made the correct decision.
He noted that according to the statute, "the president can appoint a U.S. attorney without Senate confirmation for 120 days."
Napolitano said the president "can appoint one person for 120 days, he can appoint 120 people for one day each, but he can't appoint anybody beyond the 120 days. Lindsey Halligan was appointed beyond the 120 days."
He continued, "So when she signed the indictment for Jim Comey and every other indictment that she may have signed that we don't know about since her appointment, the signature was invalid, and the indictment was invalid."
While the statute of limitations prevents indicting Comey again, James remains vulnerable to refiling because her case still falls within the limitations window.
Napolitano said that in Comey's case, the five-year statute of limitations has already expired, effectively precluding any new indictment.
He added that the Justice Department could appeal the decision to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals this morning and that Halligan is the third Trump-appointed interim U.S. attorney whose appointment has been invalidated.
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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