Legal AF by MeidasTouch: Trump Faces Humiliating Defeat in Biggest Cases

Date: November 24, 2025
Host: Ben Meiselas (MeidasTouch founder & civil rights lawyer)

Overview:

This episode delivers an in-depth analysis of a stunning legal defeat for Donald Trump’s attempts to prosecute key Democratic figures—James Comey and Letitia James—via controversial federal indictments. Host Ben Meiselas breaks down a landmark ruling by Judge Cameron McGowan Curry, who found that Trump’s handpicked special prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, was illegally and unconstitutionally appointed, invalidating all her actions—including the high-profile indictments. The discussion also explores the broader implications for the Department of Justice, the potential for appeals, and next steps for the cases and the individuals involved.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Judge Curry’s Ruling on Illegal Appointments

• Headline Ruling: Judge Curry dismissed the indictments of James Comey and Letitia James, finding Lindsey Halligan’s appointment unconstitutional.
• Legal Reasoning:
  • Halligan’s appointment by Attorney General Pam Bondi violated the Appointments Clause and 28 USC § 546.
  • The order finds everything Halligan did “ultra vires”—legally void.
• Implications:
  • For James Comey: Statute of limitations has run; no chance of future indictment on current charges.
  • For Letitia James: Different legal circumstances; possibility of reindictment exists due to different statute timelines.

Quote (Ben Meiselas, 02:49):
“Judge Curry has declared that there is a vacancy in the Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. attorney's office. And step back. Pam Bondi and Donald Trump, you're not able to fill it because she has said in her order it can only be filled...by the district court judges.”

2. Procedural Fallout & Timeline

• Who Fills the Vacancy Next:
  • With Halligan removed, only the district court judges of the Eastern District of Virginia can appoint a new U.S. attorney (per Curry's order).
  • Trump administration cannot handpick another partisan prosecutor for these cases.
• Ongoing Judicial Process:
  • Pending rulings by Judge Nachmanoff (Comey case) & Judge Walker (Letitia James case) on whether to officially close the criminal proceedings.
  • Attention to appeals—Trump’s team expected to file for emergency intervention all the way to the Supreme Court.

Quote (Ben Meiselas, 08:24):
“They try to do it again. Oh, another one. Lindsey Halligan. Another 120 days. Another 120 days...The judge says, no, you can't do that. You're doing an end run around the appointment clause.”

3. Key Legal Takeaways from Judge Curry’s Orders

• Statutes & Precedents:
  • 28 USC § 546 and § 541 outline appointment process; violated by Trump’s team through serial interim appointments.
• Strong Judicial Language:
  • Judge Curry, citing Supreme Court justices, rules that Halligan’s acts were “unlawful exercises of executive power.”
  • No retroactive validity for acts conducted by Halligan after invalid appointment.
  • Warns against allowing any "private citizen off the street" to bring federal indictments post-facto.

Quote (Ben Meiselas, reading Judge Curry, 09:43):
“When an appointment violates the appointments clause from the jump, the actor has exercised power that she did not possess…an unconstitutionally appointed person...has taken no authority at all.”

Quote (Ben Meiselas, reading Judge Curry, 11:35):
“There is a vacancy and that vacancy can only be filled by the district court Judges until a U.S. attorney is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate...It is so ordered.”

4. Impact on the Defendants: Comey & Letitia James

• James Comey:
  • Indictment void, criminal statute of limitations expired.
  • DOJ cannot refile charges. Likely outcome: permanent closure of the case.
• Letitia James:
  • Indictment also void due to Halligan, but statute of limitations for mortgage fraud charge has not expired.
  • Chance remains for reindictment, but a prior grand jury refused to indict and a respected prosecutor opposed her prosecution, bolstering her defense.

Quote (Ben Meiselas, 15:37):
"My professional opinion is that James Comey's indictment and criminal case is closed, that he's out of time, that the Department of Justice is out of time on the statute of limitations for perjury. And the fact that there was an invalid indictment does not stop the clock.”

5. Speculation on Appeals & Supreme Court Action

• Anticipated Maneuvers:
  • Trump's team expected to appeal to the Fourth Circuit, then possibly to the Supreme Court.
  • Prognosis: Courts likely to uphold Curry’s ruling, as this is a clear statutory issue on limits of executive power—not a “foreign affairs” or “commander in chief” matter.

Quote (Ben Meiselas, 13:12):
“They're going to file an emergency application to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals...then they'll take an emergency shadow docket appeal...Are they gonna do an administrative stay?...Probably, or they just reject it because they think it's very clear that under §546, the president doesn't have that power.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the larger meaning of the ruling:

  (Ben Meiselas, 09:43)
  “When an appointment violates the appointments clause from the jump, the actor has exercised power that she did not possess...has taken no authority at all.”

• On the naked abuse of the appointment process:

  (Ben Meiselas, 08:24)
  “You can’t do an end run around it...Just keep appointing every 90 days somebody else.”

• On DOJ’s limitations:

  (Ben Meiselas, 15:37)
  “My professional opinion is that James Comey's indictment and criminal case is closed...the fact that there was an invalid indictment does not stop the clock.”

• On the future for Letitia James:

  (Ben Meiselas, 15:57)
  “If they get another MAGA prosecutor in there…it’s getting harder and harder for Donald Trump to make anything like that happen with his slip on power, you know, slipping from his grip…”

Important Timestamps

• [02:49] Judge Curry’s ruling explained; illegal appointment and implications for Comey, Letitia James
• [08:24] Breakdown of the statute and how Trump team tried to game the appointment process
• [09:43] Key quotes from Judge Curry’s order about unconstitutional appointments
• [11:35] Official section from Judge Curry’s order on legal invalidity
• [13:12] Steps Trump and DOJ are likely to take next, from appeals to SCOTUS
• [15:37] Final analysis on the fate of the Comey and Letitia James cases

Summary

This episode chronicles a major legal collapse for Donald Trump’s efforts to prosecute political adversaries, with Judge Curry’s powerful ruling nullifying actions by an improperly appointed U.S. attorney. The result is almost-certain vindication for James Comey, while Letitia James still faces some—but diminished—legal risk. Ben Meiselas masterfully unpacks the weeds of appointment law, the strategic blunders by Trump’s DOJ, and what comes next, offering a crucial and clear update at the intersection of law and politics.