STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
First, we have some news from a source right here. President Trump's bid to prosecute his critics ran afoul of the law.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
A judge threw out the criminal case against former FBI director James Comey. She did the same for the indictment of Letitia James, the attorney general of New York state. Both had been indicted by a lawyer who was willing to follow Trump's demand to pursue criminal charges after other prosecutors found no reason for a case. The judge found the lawyer was improperly appointed.
INSKEEP: NPR's Carrie Johnson has been following this story. Carrie, good morning.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: OK. Why was the prosecutor not legitimately in that job?
JOHNSON: The judge found the process was invalid - that if the Trump administration wanted to pick a U.S. attorney, it had to go through the right steps. Typically, that would be nomination and confirmation by the Senate. This woman, Lindsey Halligan, has no prior experience as a prosecutor, but she was installed as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia - that's one of the most important offices in the country - on orders from President Trump. And she got the job only after the White House forced out a career prosecutor. He expressed doubts about bringing criminal charges against the former FBI director Jim Comey and New York Attorney General Tish James, both prominent critics of the president who played a role in investigating him.
INSKEEP: OK. So this isn't really a technicality. It's about the limits of executive power and when does the president have to check in with the Senate. In this case, he should have and didn't, according to the judge. But what are the real-world consequences for the cases?
JOHNSON: They're pretty serious. This judge, Cameron Currie, wrote, all actions flowing from Lindsey Halligan's defective appointment are unlawful exercises of executive power. They must be set aside. Halligan was, of course, the only prosecutor in the grand jury room for the indictments of Jim Comey and Tish James. She's the only one who signed those indictments. So now both of those cases are dismissed. The Justice Department does have the right to appeal. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, says this is a technical ruling in their view. An appeal will be coming soon. And she says the prosecutor was legally appointed and is extremely qualified. But there's a catch here. The statute of limitations in the Comey case expired at the end of September, and Judge Currie has raised some doubt about whether the DOJ can swing that door back open again.
INSKEEP: Letitia James and Jim Comey have got to be pleased about this.
JOHNSON: They are, I think. Jim Comey actually released a video saying the case against him was based on malevolence and incompetence. He also praised the Justice Department lawyers who lost their jobs for refusing to indict him.
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JAMES COMEY: The message has to be sent that the president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies. I don't care what your politics are. You have to see that as fundamentally un-American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps all of us free.
JOHNSON: Comey also says he thinks Trump may come after him again, but Comey has faith in the federal courts. And as for Tish James, she says she's heartened and she, quote, "remains fearless in the face of these baseless charges." Her lawyer says they're going to challenge any new and politically motivated charges that come against her.
INSKEEP: And can you underline for us the larger principle here?
JOHNSON: Yeah. So often with President Trump, it involves executive power. Four times this year, different courts have ruled U.S. attorneys have not been appointed legally in places like Nevada, California, New Jersey and now Virginia. These prosecutors have a lot of power to decide what to investigate. And the president has a lot of power to appoint those prosecutors, but courts are finding that has some limits.
INSKEEP: NPR's Carrie Johnson. Thanks for your insights, as always.
JOHNSON: Happy to do it. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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