A Disastrous Day in Court for Trump

Summary

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The Daily: "A Disastrous Day in Court for Trump"

Date: November 25, 2025
Host: Michael Barbaro
Guest: Devlin Barrett (The New York Times)
Episode Theme:
A federal judge tossed out high-profile indictments—brought at President Trump's urging—against James Comey (former FBI director) and Letitia James (New York attorney general). The episode unpacks why the cases collapsed, the technicalities involved, and what this means for Trump’s wider campaign of legal retribution.

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Main Theme and Purpose

The episode unpacks the stunning dismissal of two politically charged prosecution cases—those targeting James Comey and Letitia James. It explores the legal technicality that doomed the Trump administration's attempt at retribution and considers what the ruling signals for the strategy underpinning Trump’s second-term justice efforts.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context: Trump’s Retribution Campaign

• The dismissed prosecutions of Comey and James were seen as exemplars of Trump’s promised drive to target perceived enemies in his second term.
• Devlin Barrett: “This retribution campaign by the president has delivered some incredible scalps for the president and what he wants. But it did so in a very legally risky way.” (02:04)

2. The Cases Against Comey and James

• James Comey: Indicted on allegations he lied in Congressional testimony in 2020, despite internal Justice Department doubts about the case’s merits.
• Letitia James: Prosecuted for alleged mortgage fraud, following her successful lawsuit against Trump for business fraud.
• Both prosecutions were greenlit by Lindsey Halligan, a Trump loyalist with no prosecutorial experience, after career prosecutors refused to act.
  • Devlin Barrett: “Trump cycles through as many prosecutors, basically, as it takes until he can get someone, a loyal aide.” (06:17)

3. Appointment of the Prosecutor: The Technicality

• Halligan appointed as a “double temporary” U.S. Attorney, bypassing customary Senate confirmation and precedent.
• Defense argued her appointment was unlawful, violating longstanding rules about Justice Department appointments.
  • Devlin Barrett: “You can’t just keep adding temporaries on top of temporaries.” (07:42)

4. The Courtroom Drama & Hearing

• Judge scrutinized the grand jury process and Halligan’s qualifications.
• Halligan conceded in court that the indictment paperwork voted on by the grand jury didn't perfectly match the version filed, raising procedural doubts.
  • Devlin Barrett: “Halligan’s answers seemed to raise new doubts as to whether the grand jury had actually approved the final version of the case.” (10:55)

5. The Ruling: A Technical, But Deep, Cut

• The judge threw out both indictments on the basis of Halligan’s invalid appointment—not (yet) addressing the broader, potentially incendiary issue of “vindictive prosecution.”
  • Judge’s quote (paraphrased by Devlin Barrett): “It would mean the government could send any private citizen off the street into the grand jury room to secure an indictment so long as the attorney general gives her approval after the fact. That cannot be the law.” (15:20)
• The judge cited as precedent an earlier ruling (by Aileen Cannon) dismissing Trump’s classified documents charges due to another improper prosecutor appointment, creating a "legal boomerang."
  • Co-host: “It’s the ultimate legal boomerang because the argument used here ... was used by a judge to dismiss a case against the president.” (16:19)

6. Vindictive Prosecution: Still Unanswered

• The judge’s opinion sidestepped the defense’s argument that the prosecutions were acts of presidential revenge—an issue now “in a coma” unless the government revives the cases.
  • Devlin Barrett: “That issue is just sort of in a coma. Unless ... this case is revived ... I don't think you can have arguments or have a ruling about the vindictive prosecution question.” (17:26)

7. What Comes Next?

• The cases were dismissed “without prejudice,” so the administration could try again.
• However, finding a qualified, willing prosecutor is increasingly difficult, especially as career DOJ lawyers continue to resist.
• The broader rejection of Trump’s strategy—cycling through loyalists to pursue political enemies—seems likely.
  • Devlin Barrett: “They have pushed the department into a bunch of situations and scenarios that really haven’t been contemplated before.” (19:41)
• Trump’s quest for retribution is not over; alternative paths (like finding sympathetic judges) are being explored.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Legal Risk and Retribution

• Devlin Barrett: “As important as these cases are, and as alarming as it has been to some people to see the president publicly order prosecution of people he doesn’t like, ... the first answer to that question is an emphatic no.” (02:04)

On the Boomerang Precedent

• Co-host: “It’s the ultimate legal boomerang ... the argument used here to dismiss a case the president wants ... was used ... to dismiss a case against the president.” (16:19)

James Comey’s on-air reaction (Post-ruling)

• James Comey: “I'm grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking.” (22:04)
• James Comey: “This case mattered to me personally ... but it matters most because a message has to be sent that the president ... cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies.” (22:39)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:38 – Introduction of the news: Trump’s flagship retribution prosecutions tossed out.
• 02:04 – The legally and factually risky nature of the cases.
• 06:17 – Lindsey Halligan’s controversial appointment and DOJ resistance.
• 10:55 – Courtroom drama: grand jury confusion and procedural missteps.
• 14:23 – Judge’s ruling: Halligan's appointment “cannot be the law.”
• 16:19 – “Legal boomerang”: same argument that helped Trump now sinks his cases.
• 17:26 – Status of the “vindictive prosecution” argument.
• 18:17 – Cases dismissed “without prejudice”; could be refiled.
• 22:04 & 22:39 – Comey’s statements on the implications for the rule of law.
• 24:22 – New act of retribution: Senator Mark Kelly under investigation (briefly discussed).

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Episode Takeaways

• The Trump administration’s drive to prosecute political enemies hit a major legal wall—ironically, by a technical argument that previously benefited Trump.
• The federal judiciary proved, at least in this instance, to be a bulwark against legally questionable political prosecutions.
• Broader questions about misuse of the Justice Department and the unresolved issue of “vindictive prosecution” remain open.
• Trump’s team may pursue new paths—finding loyal judges, seeking new prosecutors—but resistance from the legal system is mounting.
• James Comey’s closing words highlight the fundamental stakes: “You have to see [this] as fundamentally un-American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps all of us free.” (22:39)

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This summary provides a detailed, accessible snapshot of the episode’s reporting, giving context, analysis, and direct quotes for those who need to understand the story without listening.

Transcript

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Message)]

This podcast is supported by Bayer. Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing, transparency and results that can be proven again and again. It's the approach that mapped the human genome, advancing therapies for chronic diseases. It transformed farming to help feed billions of people. It produces countless innovations that improve lives worldwide. This approach is integral to every breakthrough Bayer brings forward, innovations that save lives and feed the world. The because the future depends on it. Learn [e-mail] from the New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro.

[Michael Barbaro]

This is the Daily. On Monday afternoon, a federal judge threw out the criminal charges that the Trump administration brought against two of the president's biggest enemies today, the unexpected technicality that doomed the cases and what the ruling will mean for Trump's ambitious second term campaign of retribution. It's Tuesday, november 25th.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Devlin, thank you for, as you always do, dropping everything and coming into the studio on a breaking news night.

[Devlin Barrett]

Thanks for having me.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

It's old hat for you at this point.

[Devlin Barrett]

Always tired, never bored. That's my life.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Amen. So I think it's fair to say that nothing embodied the progress that President Trump has been making in his campaign of retribution against his enemies so much as the indictments of James Comey, the former FBI director, and Letitia James, the current attorney general of New York. And just a couple hours ago, a judge tossed out both of them in one fell swoop.

[Devlin Barrett]

Right? Because this retribution campaign by the president has delivered some incredible scalps for the president and what he wants. But it did so in a very legally risky way, a very, I think a lot of people would say, factually risky way. And as important as these cases are, and as alarming as it has been to some people to see the president publicly order prosecution of people he doesn't like, I think the unanswered question until Monday was would the court system go along with this? Would judges go along with this? And the first cut, and it's not going to be the last cut, but the first answer to that question is an emphatic no.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

And this may be the first cut, but it's a deep cut to the president when it comes to this idea of retribution.

[Devlin Barrett]

It's a deep cut to the president and the administration in a couple of ways. First, in the sense that he has law lost for the time being at least, these two centerpiece cases of his drive for retribution. And it's also a deep cut to the degree that he is being told that the way he's running the Justice Department is not appropriate under the Law is not what the law says you can do with the Justice Department. And another way to think about the significance of this moment is Trump has publicly declared time and again that people he doesn't like are criminals and that they should be prosecuted. A lot of times, the facts and the law of what he's talking about don't really stand up to scrutiny. And one of, I think, the great tests of this moment for the legal system and for the administration is to what degree does Trump's version of reality impose its will on the court system? The courts are about establishing facts, and the courts are about following the law.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Right. The court's reality here is that these cases were deeply flawed. So to that point, let's talk about how these two cases got to the point where they could be at the very front end of the system so easily tossed out and tossed out so quickly. We've got the Comey case and the James case. One involves leaking, the other involves mortgages. Just briefly remind us about the legal basis for both these cases.

[Devlin Barrett]

Right. So let's take a look at who each of these people are and what they're accused of. So when it comes to James Comey, he was obviously the FBI director when Trump became president the first time, and. And he oversaw the FBI as it investigated Russian election interference, as it investigated the Trump campaign, which made him enemy.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Number one for Trump forever.

[Devlin Barrett]

Right, Exactly. I think it's safe to say that there's no one Trump despises more than James Comey. And if you fast forward now to 2025, there has been a building pressure on the Justice Department to. To investigate and prosecute Comey. And what you saw over the summer was career prosecutors taking a look at the evidence that had been gathered on a range of issues, but primarily a question of whether he may have lied in congressional testimony from 2020. Career prosecutors look at that and say, there's no case here.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Right.

[Devlin Barrett]

And then in very short order, the person running that office is forced out who was a Trump pick themselves and serving in that role on a temporary basis. And in his place, the administration puts Lindsey Halligan. Lindsey Halligan is a longtime Trump aide who had no prosecutorial experience before she was given this assignment to become the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Right. Trump cycles through as many prosecutors, basically, as it takes until he can get someone, a loyal aide. Halligan, it turns out, who would bring.

[Devlin Barrett]

A charge against Comey and not just bring a case against James Comey, but also bring a case against Letitia James, the New York attorney General, the Trump history on Letitia James is that she pursued him in court, she sued him in New York, and was won a verdict for hundreds of millions of dollars over business fraud related to Trump's businesses. And he has been mad about it for a very long time. Again, you get to this summer, and Justice Department officials are under pressure to charge Letitia James with some sort of mortgage fraud. And eventually, once Lindsey Halligan is in place, Halligan brings an indictment.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So Halligan ends up being 2 for 2. And it's not so much that she's evaluating what look like super strong legal cases against Comey or James, it's that she very much wants to fulfill the president's desire for an indictment. That seems to be more or less the conventional wisdom from the minute these cases are brought.

[Devlin Barrett]

Well, that's certainly what it looks like based on what we know. And what we know is that career prosecutors said not only do we think this is not a good case, we don't even think this is a strong enough case to merit presenting it to a grand jury.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

However, a grand jury in both cases indicts.

[Devlin Barrett]

Correct. And that becomes one of the bases for this challenge, because one of the things that's very unusual about both these cases is that a new prosecutor parachutes in Lindsey Halligan and within a matter of days delivers indictments essentially on her own that her own office didn't think had merit. So both Letitia James and James Comey fight back on a number of legal arguments. But they share one argument in particular, which is that Lindsey Halligan's appointment was never lawful is just not right. She shouldn't be the US Attorney. Can't be the US Attorney. Why? Because normally what's supposed to happen is that a US Attorney is supposed to be nominated by a president, confirmed by a Senate. And if for whatever reason, that can't happen, you know, there's a process to pick a temporary replacement for a limited period of time. And as you might remember, I already said there was someone already serving in that role on a temporary basis. So Lindsey Halligan becomes sort of a double temporary U.S. attorney. The defense argument here is actually a pretty simple one, which is like, you can't just keep adding temporaries on top of temporaries. At the same time that lawyers for Comey and lawyers for James are fighting about the Halligan appointment, which is kind of a technical issue, they're also waging a much bigger fight in some ways over the very premise of what just happened. Meaning they're arguing that this is vindictive prosecution. They're arguing that but for Trump's dislike of these two human beings for political reasons, there would never have been a criminal case against either of them. And that's obviously an important issue in the whole larger picture of what's happening at the Justice Department, what's happening at the Trump administration.

[Michael Barbaro]

Right.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

They're making an argument that really gets to the heart of both cases, basically. Does it have any merit? Is it simply an act of revenge? And if it's just an act of revenge, isn't that illegal?

[Devlin Barrett]

Right. And that really came to a head last week in court when Comey's lawyers made their case to the judge that this was just a vindictive prosecution, that this case existed because President Trump wanted him punished.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Well, just describe this hearing.

[Devlin Barrett]

So this was a hearing that did not go well for Lindsey Halligan. And the judge had a lot of pointed questions about the grand jury, how the grand jury actually ended up voting on this. And at one point, the judge specifically called Lindsey Halligan up to answer his questions directly, as opposed to having a different, more experienced federal prosecutor answer the questions. And in that line of questioning, Halligan and her associate conceded that the written final version of the indictment wasn't exactly the same paperwork that the grand jury had voted on.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

And just explain why that would be a big deal.

[Devlin Barrett]

Well, it's a technical thing, but obviously, a grand jury is supposed to vote on the indictment that gets filed to the court. But Lindsey Halligan's answers seem to raise new doubts as to whether the grand jury had actually approved the final version of the case against Jim Comey. So much so that Comey's own lawyers immediately popped up and said, you, Honor, what they just said is another reason to dismiss this case.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Gotcha.

[Devlin Barrett]

Halligan. And the Justice Department's argument is that this is a technical, procedural thing. It doesn't affect any of the substance that's their argument to those concerns.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Right. But to those of us watching from home, it felt like if anything was going to unwind this case, it was probably gonna be a ruling of vindictive prosecution based off of Lindsey Halligan's very complicated testimony in that hearing.

[Devlin Barrett]

Right. I think that hearing really raised expectations that there was going to be potentially a seismic ruling about the whole question, the whole issue of vindictive prosecution. But in fact, on Monday, the first judge's opinion dismissing these cases came on the technical issue of Lindsey Halligan's appointment.

[Michael Barbaro]

We'll be right back.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Message)]

This podcast is supported by Bayer Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing transparency and results that can be proven again and again. It's the approach that mapped the human genome, advancing therapies for chronic diseases. It transformed farming to help feed billions of people. It produces countless innovations that improve lives worldwide. This approach is integral to every breakthrough Bayer brings forward, innovations that save lives and feed the world, because the future depends on it. Learn [e-mail] hi, this is Lori Leibovich.

[Lori Leibovich]

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[Co-host/Interviewer]

So, Devlin, walk us through this ruling that ultimately determines that Lindsey Halligan is not legally able to have brought these indictments against either James Comey or Letitia James.

[Devlin Barrett]

Right. The judge basically agrees with the arguments Comey and others have made that you can't have essentially a double temporary U.S. attorney. And the judge says that it simply can't be right, that when you don't follow the normal process for putting a US Attorney into that job, that would sort of negate the whole purpose of having a rule about this to begin with. So what the judge said was this. It would mean the government could send any private citizen off the street into the grand jury room to secure an indictment so long as the attorney general gives her approval after the fact. That cannot be the law, the judge wrote. And what she means by that is if you were to allow this system to continue to the obvious conclusion, you really wouldn't have any more Senate confirmed U.S. attorneys. It would just be the president picks whoever they want whenever they want, and they just keep doing that.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Basically, this judge is saying that the administration has so diluted the normal process of picking a US Attorney who is, of course, the local embodiment of the Justice Department, that the process is completely disconnected from its original Intent. And like the judge said, basically, the president could put any old person in that job now.

[Devlin Barrett]

Right. And as part of the legal basis for making this decision, she cites explicitly a decision ended up last year by a different judge in a different courtroom named Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the Trump charges for mishandling classified information. Because that judge found that the prosecutor in that case, a guy named Jack Smith, was improperly appointed. And it's an amazing bit of courtroom karma that that legal argument has now been used to dismiss an indictment that the president demanded.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Right. It's the ultimate legal boomerang because the argument used here to dismiss a case the president wants against his enemies was used by a judge to dismiss a case against the president. Seems like the judge is saying to the Trump administration, you should understand this argument full well. You won one of your biggest legal victories based on it.

[Devlin Barrett]

Exactly. And I'll say, having attended the hearing that led to this decision, she brought up that Cannon ruling on Jack Smith in the hearing itself. She flagged it as well. Don't I have to follow the example set by Judge Cannon in U.S. v. Trump? And clearly the Trump administration did not have a good answer to that question.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So, Devin, now that a judge has dismissed the indictments of Comey and James based on this more technical argument, what happens to the more kind of spiritual argument of vindictive prosecution? Does that ruling ever happen? Or once the case is dismissed, does that ruling just get tossed aside?

[Devlin Barrett]

I think that issue is just sort of in a coma. Unless and until this case is revived without a higher court deciding no, this indictment should exist again, I don't think you can have arguments or have a ruling about the vindictive prosecution question.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

So for now, that argument's in limbo. But I wonder if you can help us understand whether any of this case will ever come out of your so called coma. Could the administration try to bring these indictments back again?

[Devlin Barrett]

Well, they certainly could because the judge dismissed both of them with what's called without prejudice. There are two ways to dismiss a case. One is with prejudice, which means you cannot refile this no matter what, and the other is without prejudice. And so which means you can refile, and these cases were dismissed without prejudice.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Got it.

[Devlin Barrett]

So there is still an avenue here, at least in theory, for prosecutors to try again. I think as far as reviving these cases, I have no doubt the desire is there on Trump's part. I think the question is, if you're the Justice Department, if you're Trump's Justice Department, how do you balance the desire to appeal, the desire to fight this decision with the more practical question of, okay, so if Lindsey Halligan isn't the U.S. attorney who is and who exists within the government that might even be willing to try to take a second shot at the grand jury with these cases, this becomes potentially another search for the prosecutor who will, you know, pursue this case yet again.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

And Devlin, in all likelihood, it's probably going to be another temporary U.S. attorney, because, as you just said, the career prosecutors don't want to bring these cases. So is it possible that the basis for tossing out these cases, as technical as it might seem, becomes a broader rejection of the entire Trump administration strategy of picking pretty inexperienced allies of the president to bring the cases against his enemies that he wants to, that the rest of the Justice Department system is really resistant to bringing?

[Devlin Barrett]

It's entirely possible. And so there are a lot of question marks here as to what will the administration's next steps be, because they have pushed the department into a bunch of situations and scenarios that really haven't been contemplated before.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Well, I wonder where this ends up leaving the president's vision for retribution, because it was always our understanding that in the second term, he learned from the mistakes of the first, and in the first term, he really struggled to carry out retribution. In the second term, he was going to appoint people who were willing to do what he wanted against his enemies and who were supposed to be qualified to do it. And this ruling suggests that's not really the case.

[Devlin Barrett]

So this is obviously a very important set of rulings by this judge, and I think they represent a major setback for the president's retribution campaign against his enemies. But I also think it's a trap to think that in court that the thing that just happened is the most important thing is the decisive thing. And so I don't think this is going to be the final word or the final indicator of anything to do with the president's retribution campaign. For instance, if you look in Florida, the Justice Department is putting together an investigative, prosecutive effort that's trying to pull together all these different parts of what Trump supporters argue is a great conspiracy against him, stretching back to his first campaign for president, and trying to build that effort specifically under the auspices of Judge Aileen Cannon, the judge who threw out the charges against Donald Trump.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Right. The thinking here seems to be, if you can't find a prosecutor who will do this work of retribution, then go find a judge who will.

[Devlin Barrett]

Right. Which is why I say I think it's a mistake to assume that this ruling will stop efforts at retribution, efforts at payback, because I think the Trump administration has made clear they're going to keep looking for cases and places to pursue retribution.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

Well, Devlin, thank you very much.

[Devlin Barrett]

Thank you.

[James Comey]

I'm grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking.

[Michael Barbaro]

On Monday night, James Comey released a video about the dismissal of his indictment. In it, Comey said that he expects President Trump to come after him again, but that he believes an independent federal judiciary would protect him and anyone else targeted for retribution by the president.

[James Comey]

This case mattered to me personally, obviously, but it matters most because a message has to be sent that the president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies. I don't care what your politics are. You have to see that as fundamentally un American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps all of us free.

[Co-host/Interviewer]

We'll be right back.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Message)]

This podcast is supported by Bayer. Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing, transparency, and results that can be proven again and again. It's the approach that mapped the human genome, advancing therapies for chronic diseases. It transformed farming to help feed billions of people. It produces countless innovations that improve lives worldwide. This approach is integral to every breakthrough. Bayer brings forward, innovations that save lives and feed the world because the future depends on it. Learn [e-mail] hi, I'm Solana Pyne.

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[Michael Barbaro]

Here's what else you need to know Today, in its latest act of retribution, the Trump administration opened an investigation of Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona over allegations that his participation in a video statement to members of the US Military was an act of official misconduct. Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut, was one of six Democratic lawmakers who in the video told American troops that they have the right to ignore illegal orders issued by Trump, a message that has infuriated the president. As a result, the Defense Department is now investigating whether Kelly violated the military's code of justice, which applies to retired service members. In theory, Kelly could be recalled to active duty or disciplined, a possibility that legal experts said was both remote and legally dubious. Today's episode was produced by Rachelle Banja, Diana Nguyen, Mary Wilson and Rob Zypko. It was edited by Lexi Diao and Rachel Quester, contains music by Elisheba Itupe and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Chris Wood. That's it for the Daily I'm Michael Bavarro. See you tomorrow.

[Podcast Host (Sponsor Message)]

This podcast is supported by Bayer. Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing, transparency and results that can be proven again and again. It's the approach that mapped the human genome, advancing therapies for chronic diseases. It transformed farming to help feed billions of people. It produces countless innovations that improve lives worldwide. This approach is integral to every breakthrough Bayer brings forward, innovations that save lives and feed the world because the future depends on it. Learn more@science delivers.com.