Name: Statute limits may block further DOJ action on Comey
Uploaded: 2025-11-25T01:08:58.140Z
Duration: 2 min 40 s
Description: A federal judge has dismissed criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Legal experts say the statute of limitations may prevent the DOJ from pursuing additional charges.

A federal judge has dismissed criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Legal experts say the statute of limitations may prevent the DOJ from pursuing additional charges.

Washington

A federal judge has dismissed criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The dismissal was based on the finding that interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan, who brought the indictments, was unlawfully appointed and therefore lacked the authority to prosecute the cases.

The judge ruled that an invalid indictment does not pause or extend the statute of limitations. As a result, the case against Comey cannot be refiled because the time limit has expired, while the case against Letitia James could potentially be refiled if a properly appointed prosecutor pursues it. The Department of Justice may consider appealing the decision.

Statute limits may block further DOJ action on Comey

Returning to one of our top stories tonight, a federal judge has dismissed the criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The judge overseeing these cases ruled that Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who secured the indictments, you see her on the left-hand side, was unlawfully appointed to the role. CBS News Legal Contributor and Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson joins us now. So Jessica, in reading this decision today, what did you make of the cases being dismissed? This was all about who brought the cases and nothing about the substance of the cases. So this is all about whether or not Lindsey Halligan, as you just said, was properly appointed and therefore had the power to bring these cases. And let's remember that she had a key role. Typically speaking, you would have career prosecutors bring the cases, maybe present them to the grand jury, also sign the indictments. That's not what happened in these cases. In these cases, Lindsey Halligan was the only one who presented them to the grand jury, the only one to sign them. And this is not about the substance of the claims. It's all about this initial procedural hurdle. Can this prosecutor bring these claims? And if you'll indulge me in the ruling, the judge wrote, quote, generally the return of an indictment tolls the statute of limitations on the charges contained in the indictment. An invalid indictment, however, cannot serve to block the door of limitations as it swings closed. If the earlier indictment is void, there is no legitimate peg on which to hang such a judicial limitations tolling result. So essentially, it's my understanding that this is saying you can't just indict someone because the statute of limitations is about to close. It doesn't then reopen if this fraudulent indictment is thrown out. Absolutely. This is not an indulgence. This is a really important question. And that's when we're looking at these two cases, James Comey is not similarly situated to Letitia James because the James Comey case was brought five days before the statute of limitations ran, meaning before the time by which you have to bring the case closed. What the judge said in a footnote, footnote 21, she said an invalid indictment like this does not pause the statute of limitations. Meaning in her reading, Lindsey Halligan couldn't bring the case and the case is too old to bring at this point. That's different from the case against Letitia James where there still would be the chance to refile that case if there was a properly appointed prosecutor who wanted to and could bring the case. Okay, so could be refiled. Also, we could expect the DOJ to appeal. Jessica Levinson, thank you so much.

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