WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges had been illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled to dismiss the Comey case, writing that because the prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, "had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey's motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice."

"All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan's defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey's indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside," the judge wrote.

Currie issued a separate, similar ruling dismissing the case of Letitia James.

Currie's orders make Halligan the latest Trump administration prosecutor to be disqualified because of the manner in which they were appointed. Halligan was named interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in September to take over both investigations despite having no previous prosecutorial experience. Both Comey and James accused the Justice Department of violating the U.S. Constitution and federal law by appointing Halligan.

Currie dismissed the two cases "without prejudice," giving the Justice Department an opportunity to refile the cases.

In September, Comey was charged with making a false statement and obstruction of a congressional proceeding by a federal grand jury, only days after U.S. President Donald Trump urged relevant actions against him. Comey pleaded not guilty to charges.

James was indicted for alleged mortgage fraud by a grand jury in the U.S. state of Virginia in October. In a statement, James said the charges are baseless and called the indictment "nothing more than a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system." ■