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On September 15, a U.S. appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, will review the Justice Department’s appeal to revive criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The DOJ argues that Lindsey Halligan was lawfully appointed by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute these cases, while Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled last year that Halligan’s appointment violated federal laws governing U.S. Attorney appointments. Arguments will focus on whether Bondi had the authority to appoint Halligan and thus whether the prosecutions can proceed.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Claims extracted
17
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject
Correction & hedging signals
58.7
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Story summary
A U.S. appeals court will hear arguments on September 15 from the Justice Department about whether it can revive criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both longtime critics of President Donald Trump. The DOJ is challenging a decision by Judge Cameron McGowan Currie that dismissed these cases because the prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was deemed improperly appointed by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. The DOJ argues this ruling would limit the attorney general’s authority to appoint interim U.S. attorneys, while Comey and James’ lawyers contend it would prevent presidents from indefinitely keeping loyalists in key positions without Senate approval. These prosecutions were seen as emblematic of the Trump administration's use of federal law enforcement against political opponents.
Written for “Trump Legal Battles Continued” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.45 for article 9891 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-15
US appeals court to hear DOJ bid to revive cases against Trump foes Comey, James
asserted
court → hear → foes
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday will consider the Justice Department’s bid to revive criminal cases against two of President Donald Trump's longtime adversaries, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
asserted
court → consider → adversaries
The Justice Department is set to urge the court to reverse a judge’s order tossing out both cases last year on the grounds that the prosecutor who brought them, Trump ally Lindsey Halligan, was not lawfully appointed.
asserted
who → set → them
The prosecutions of Comey and James were among the most high-profile instances of the Trump administration using federal law enforcement to target perceived political enemies and generated upheaval inside the Justice Department.
asserted
administration → use → Department
But the arguments on Tuesday at the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are likely to focus on the narrower issue of whether former Attorney General Pam Bondi had the authority to appoint Halligan as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to prosecute the cases.
asserted
Bondi → base → cases
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie concluded in November 2025 that Halligan’s appointment to a 120-day interim stint violated a federal law governing how U.S. Attorney vacancies can be filled.
asserted
vacancies → conclude → law
The judge determined that both cases had to be tossed because Halligan, a former personal lawyer to Trump with no prior prosecutorial experience, secured both indictments by herself.
asserted
Halligan → determine → herself
Comey has since been charged in a separate federal case accusing him of threatening Trump in a social media post showing seashells on a beach arranged to form the numbers "86-47."
asserted
Comey → charge → numbers
That case is continuing.
asserted
case → continue → ?
LEGAL ARGUMENTS OVER APPOINTMENT AUTHORITY
Justice Department lawyers have urged the appeals court to reject Currie’s interpretation of the law, arguing it would wrongly limit the attorney general’s ability to name interim U.S. Attorneys to lead 94 federal prosecutors' offices across the U.S.
Lawyers for Comey and James argued that the DOJ’s position would effectively allow the president to keep loyalist interim U.S. Attorneys in place indefinitely, evading the Senate’s authority to approve those officials.
asserted
president → urge → officials
The prosecutions of James and Comey were brought after Trump mentioned both by name in a September 2025 social media post demanding that Bondi, who was then attorney general, take action against his adversaries.
asserted
who → bring → adversaries
Trump fired Comey as FBI director during his first term as Comey was overseeing an investigation into potential ties between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.
asserted
Comey → fire → campaign
James successfully sued Trump and his family business for fraud following his first term.
asserted
James → sue → term
The indictment against Comey accused him of lying to Congress about authorizing leaks to the news media.
asserted
indictment → accuse → media
James was charged with bank fraud for allegedly misrepresenting her use of a Virginia home.
uncertain
James → charge → home
Both denied wrongdoing and alleged they were targeted with vindictive prosecutions as part of a Trump retribution campaign.
asserted
they → deny → campaign
Courts had not yet resolved those arguments at the time both cases were dismissed based on Halligan’s appointment.
asserted
cases → resolve → appointment
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