'Pam Bondi Takes a Beating in Court Over Lindsey Halligan's Dubious Appointment'
"I was in federal court this morning in Alexandria, Virginia, for a hearing on the motions to disqualify interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan filed by former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James."
"Let me first give you the top line from the hour-long joint hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, the South Carolina judge who was brought in for these challenges because the local district judges have a conflict of interest. Second, I’ll hit some new facts that Judge Currie herself revealed in the hearing. Then I’ll try to parse where Currie is and give you my impression of where this is headed."
"The top line was pretty straightforward: Currie gave no indication that she thinks Halligan was lawfully appointed as interim U.S. attorney. None, zero, zilch. But it wasn’t at all clear what Currie will do about it now. Almost all of her questions were either skeptical or challenging of the Trump administration’s position. None of her questions seriously challenged either defendant."
"If I’m either Comey or James, I would have walked out of the hearing pretty confident that I was going to prevail on the statutory construction and constitutional arguments that Halligan was unlawfully appointed (but I would have gone into the hearing pretty confident that I was right on the law). What I’d be much less certain of is whether Currie is prepared to give me the maximum relief I’m seeking: dismissal of the indictments with prejudice, meaning the government cannot turn around and re-indict me on these same charges."
"I’ll come back to this in more detail in a bit, but that’s the takeaway. Now for the new revelations."
Continued at link:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/pam-bondi-lindsey-halligan-appointment-james-comey-letitia-james