Dismissal of Comey, James cases isn't the final word. Here's what's likely to come next.

"The Justice Department says it plans to immediately appeal a pair of rulings that held that Lindsey Halligan was illegally appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. It also has the ability to try to refile the cases, though whether it can successfully secure fresh indictments through a different prosecutor is unclear, as is whether any new indictments could survive the crush of legal challenges that would invariably follow."

"U.S. attorneys, top federal prosecutors who oversee regional Justice Department outposts across the country, are typically nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, though attorneys general do have the authority to directly appoint interim U.S. attorneys who can serve in the job for 120 days. But lawyers for Comey and James argued that the law empowers only one such temporary appointment and that, after that, federal judges in the district have say over who fills the vacancy until a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney can be installed."

A federal judge dismissed criminal cases against James Comey and New York Attorney Letitia James after finding Lindsey Halligan was illegally appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan, a White House aide with no prior federal prosecutorial experience, replaced Erik Siebert after he was forced out amid pressure to charge Comey and James. The law allows an attorney general to appoint an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days; lawyers argued a second interim appointment exceeded that authority and gave judges temporary control of the vacancy. The Justice Department plans to appeal and may attempt to refile, but legal hurdles and fresh challenges make outcomes uncertain.

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