Ryan Lucas

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.

Much of the hearing focused on a separate legal challenge Comey has filed, arguing that this is a vindictive prosecution fueled by President Trump's animus for Comey, who is a sharp critic of the president.

The judge did not issue a ruling on what he called weighty and complex issues.

Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.

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.

Much of the hearing focused on a separate legal challenge Comey has filed, arguing that this is a vindictive prosecution fueled by President Trump's animus for Comey, who is a sharp critic of the president.

The judge did not issue a ruling on what he called weighty and complex issues.

Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.

So I spoke with nine current and former officials for this story.

They are all people who spent much of their careers focused on transnational criminal organizations and drug trafficking.

So they have a lot of experience.

They are not fans of drug cartels.

They all questioned the legality of the Trump administration's military strikes.

Many of them referred to the strikes as murder.