New York Attorney General Letitia James (left) and US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A federal grand jury has declined to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James after prosecutors attempted to revive a criminal case that was thrown out last month, NBC News reports.

The Justice Department presented a new case against James to a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday, Dec. 4. It came less than two weeks after a federal judge dismissed the original indictment because the prosecutor who brought it had been unlawfully appointed, as Daily Voice reported.

James, who has denied wrongdoing, had previously been charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. Those charges were voided on Monday, Nov. 24 when US District Judge Cameron Currie ruled that Lindsey Halligan — the acting US attorney who presented the case — did not have the legal authority to do so.

Halligan, a former personal attorney to President Donald Trump with no prior prosecutorial experience, had been named interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in late September.

Her appointment came one day after Trump removed his initial pick, Erik Siebert, who had reportedly resisted pressure to pursue cases against James and former FBI Director James Comey.

The judge dismissed both the James and Comey indictments “without prejudice,” meaning prosecutors could attempt to file new charges. After the ruling, the Justice Department initially signaled it would appeal but ultimately opted to take both matters back to a grand jury using a different team of prosecutors, NBC News reports.

Prosecutors have also been weighing whether to again seek charges against Comey, whose earlier indictment — stemming from allegations he lied to Congress and obstructed a congressional investigation — was dismissed on the same legal grounds as James’ case, according to the outlet.

The earlier judge’s ruling found that because Halligan lacked lawful authority to present evidence and sign indictments, “all actions” flowing from her appointment were void and had to be set aside.