Lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James and FBI Director James Comey argued in court for their cases to be dismissed over Lindsey Halligan's appointment as interim U.S. attorney in Virginia. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane explains.

New York

Former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James have requested that a federal judge dismiss criminal charges filed against them in the Eastern District of Virginia. Their defense teams argue that the prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed as US attorney for Virginia, and that this invalidates the indictments, as she was the sole prosecutor involved.

The judge heard arguments from both sides and is expected to issue a decision within several weeks. Comey's defense also contends that, due to the statute of limitations, the case cannot be refiled if dismissed, while Letitia James's case may differ due to more recent alleged misconduct. Both defendants are also pursuing separate arguments of political prosecution, and appeals are expected regardless of the outcome.

Comey and James ask judge to drop charges filed by Lindsey Halligan

All right, more of that interview on CBSnews.com. Meanwhile, we have breaking news out of Alexandria, Virginia, where former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a judge to drop the criminal charges brought against them by the Trump administration. So let's get right to CBS News Justice Correspondent Scott McFarlane. He is following those proceedings. He is in our nation's capital right now. Scott, any decision on throwing out those charges? There will be a decision. That decision will come before Thanksgiving, according to the federal judge. She wants some time to process what she heard today, in part because what we heard today really has never been argued before, not with this type of defendant, not with these two types of defendants, and not in this context. Here's the bottom line. James Comey, the former FBI Director, Letitia James, the current New York Attorney General, both of whom are charged in the Eastern District of Virginia by the Trump administration with federal crimes, had their defense attorneys in one room in front of one judge making a parallel pair of arguments. They both want their cases dismissed. They both argue that the prosecutor appointed to their case, Lindsey Halligan, the new US attorney for Virginia, who was just a couple of months ago a Trump White House aide, was unlawfully appointed to the position. And because she was the only name on the case when they were filed, because she was the only prosecutor in the grand jury rooms getting those two indictments, if she's not lawfully appointed, the case collapses. The federal judge heard the arguments over about 80 minutes or so time. Both defendants had their attorneys go up there. The prosecution also made its case, saying that whatever's being argued here does not warrant the dismissal of criminal cases. All of this now hangs in the air at least a couple weeks until the judge decides. So I guess my question is, if the case implodes based on the argument of Halligan being improperly put in as the person in charge of this, it really isn't arguing on the merits of the case. Could the case be brought back, Scott, in different ways? Fantastic question, Reid. It's a particularly impactful point. What James Comey's defense team said is, even if you wanted to dismiss this case without prejudice and let the prosecution give another crack at it, you can't. Because the statute of limitations expired after the charges were filed. It's been beyond five years now. You can't bring it back. That's not so much true with Letitia James, where alleged misconduct is more recent. So some of that's going to be a factor in when these decisions are appealed. I bet you the losing side appeals this no matter what. And there's also the other matter, Reid. Both Letitia James and James Comey have separate arguments to dismiss their cases, saying in each of the cases it was vindictive, selective, political prosecution. Whole different argument. Judges are going to hear those arguments in the coming days. They have a lot of balls in the air right now. There's no certainty these cases move forward. I think it's quite certain, Reid, we're not going to know this week, maybe not next week, what the disposition's going to be. Fascinating to see the legal strategy playing out. Scott McFarlane, CBS News Justice Correspondent. Thank you so much.

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