Pam Bondi recently delivered a sharp critique of her beauty queen competitor, Lindsey Halligan, following a federal judge’s dismissal of Halligan’s indictments against James Comey and Letitia James.
Halligan, who previously served as one of Donald Trump’s attorneys, was chosen by the former president to lead the prosecution against Comey and James. Trump believed that Bondi was not advancing the cases with sufficient speed.
On Monday, Judge Cameron Currie accused Halligan of “prosecutorial misconduct,” referring to her as “a former White House aide” who never met the necessary qualifications for the role.
Following the judge’s decision, Bondi addressed the situation in a press conference, saying, “Shame on them for not wanting her in office.”
Bondi continued, “I’ve spoken to many of our U.S. attorneys across the nation, and I can tell you, Lindsay Halligan is an excellent U.S. attorney.”
Reports have previously indicated that Bondi and her Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche considered the mortgage fraud case against James to be lacking in strength.
‘We have made Lindsay Halligan a special US attorney so she is in court, she can fight in court just like she was, and we believe we will be successful on appeal,’ Bondi said.
Pam Bondi backed her beauty queen rival Lindsey Halligan’s cases against James Comey and Letitia James after both of them were thrown out by a federal judge
Judge Cameron Currie accused the President’s hand-picked attorney, Halligan, of ‘prosecutorial misconduct’ after she secured indictments against Comey and James
Bondi was reportedly blindsided when Halligan, took an indictment against New York Attorney General James and former FBI Director Comey straight to a grand jury.
The former beauty queen, who took over Virginia’s Eastern District in September, went completely rogue, ditching any coordination with the attorney general or her team, according to reports.
Bondi promised this wouldn’t be the end for either of the two anti-Trump figures.
‘We’ll be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal, to hold Letitia James and James Comey accountable for their unlawful conduct,’ Bondi said.
‘I’m not worried about someone who has been charged with a very serious crime. His alleged actions were a betrayal of public trust.’
Currie ruled that a 120-day deadline on interim appointments expired during the previous prosecutor’s tenure, meaning Pam Bondi did not have the authority to appoint Halligan – this was up to the district’s federal judges.
‘I conclude that all actions flowing from Ms Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr Comey’s indictment, constitute unlawful exercises of executive power and must be set aside,’ wrote Currie, a Bill Clinton-appointed judge.
Comey was charged with making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding relating to his 2020 Senate testimony, where he denied authorizing FBI officials to leak information to the press
James was indicted on charges including bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution concerning information on mortgage applications that prosecutors alleged was falsified
Both Comey and James asked that their cases be dismissed and that the prosecutor be disqualified because of the manner of her appointment.
The defendants in the two separate cases asked for the indictments to be dismissed with prejudice, which means the Justice Department would not be able to bring the same charges against them. But the judge dismissed with prejudice.
Comey was charged with making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding relating to his 2020 Senate testimony, where he denied authorizing FBI officials to leak information to the press.
James was indicted on charges including bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution concerning information on mortgage applications that prosecutors alleged was falsified.
Halligan, a former beauty queen, was named to the job of interim US Attorney for Virginia in September.
Before her appointment, Erik Siebert, a different interim attorney, was forced out amid pressure from Trump to file charges against his political enemies.
Comey’s lawyers argued that after Siebert was forced out, the judges should have had exclusive say over who would fill the vacancy.
But it was ultimately Trump who moved forward and nominated Halligan as he publicly pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against Comey and James.
‘JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!’ the President wrote on Truth Social at the time.
Comey was indicted days later on charges of making a false statement and obstructing Congress, and James was charged soon after that in a mortgage fraud investigation.
In a statement, James said, ‘I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country.’
Lindsey Halligan reportedly blindsided Pam Bondi following her indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James
‘I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day,’ the New York attorney general, a Democrat, said.
Judges have separately disqualified interim US attorneys in New Jersey, Los Angeles and Nevada, but have permitted cases brought under their watch to move forward.
But lawyers for Comey and James had argued that Currie’s ruling needed to go even further because Halligan was the sole signer of the indictments and the driving force behind them.
Comey has for years been one of Trump’s chief antagonists.
Appointed to the job in 2013 by President Barack Obama, Comey, at the time of Trump’s 2016 election, was overseeing an investigation into whether his presidential campaign had conspired with Russia to sway the outcome of the race.
Furious over that investigation, the President fired Comey in May 2017 and the two officials have verbally sparred in the years since.
James has also been a frequent target of his ire, especially since she won a staggering judgment against him and the Trump Organization in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements.
An appeals court overturned the fine, which had ballooned to more than $500 million with interest, but upheld a lower court’s finding that Trump had committed fraud.
