Ryan Lucas

Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.

What Judge Curry found is that Halligan's appointment violates a statute that governs interim U.S.

attorney appointments as well as the appointments clause of the U.S.

Constitution.

And because of that, the judge says in her ruling,

Everything that came after Halligan was appointed, including the indictments against both Comey and James, all of that was unlawful.

And so she dismissed this case, but she did so without prejudice.

And that means the Justice Department could, in theory, refile the charges, although it's unclear how exactly that would look.

With Comey, there's an added complication, and that's that the statute of limitations has now passed.

Our laws are clear.

What Judge Curry found is that Halligan's appointment violates a statute that governs interim U.S.

attorney appointments, as well as the appointments clause of the U.S.

Constitution.

And because of that, the judge says in her ruling,

Everything that came after Halligan was appointed, including the indictments against both Comey and James, all of that was unlawful.

And so she dismissed this case, but she did so without prejudice.

And that means the Justice Department could, in theory, refile the charges, although it's unclear how exactly that would look.

With Comey, there's an added complication, and that's that the statute of limitations has now passed.

At a hearing in federal court in Virginia, prosecutors acknowledged under questioning from the judge that the full grand jury never reviewed a final copy of the two-count indictment against Comey.

The former FBI director's attorney, Michael Dreeben, jumped on that irregularity to argue that that means there is no indictment and the case should be dismissed, an argument the government pushed back on.