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By Holmes Lybrand, Devan Cole, Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge dismissed the indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday. The judge found that President Donald Trump’s appointment of interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan in Alexandria, Virginia, was invalid. Trump handpicked Halligan for the role amid increasing pressure to bring criminal cases against his political enemies, including Comey and James. “The Attorney General’s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid,” Judge Cameron McGowan Currie wrote in her Monday order. According to Currie, “all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment” including the indictments against Comey and James “were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside.” The judge tossed out the cases “without prejudice,” leaving open the possibility that the cases against Comey and James can be brought again alleging the same conduct. But McGowan Currie appeared to acknowledge in her ruling that for Comey, such a move may not be possible since the statute of limitations for his charges has now passed. CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. James issued a statement after the charges against her were dropped. “I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country,” she said. “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.” Why Halligan was unlawfully appointed Halligan, a former White House adviser, was selected for the role after the Trump administration pushed out the previous interim US attorney amid increasing pressure to bring cases against Comey and James. After determining Halligan’s appointment was invalid, the judge pointed to Trump’s classified documents case in explaining why dismissing the indictments was the proper remedy. In that case, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the charges against Trump after finding Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed, in part because he too was not Senate confirmed. Trump had pleaded not guilty to taking classified documents from the White House and resisting the government’s attempts to retrieve the materials. In the cases against Comey — which Halligan brought before a grand jury just days after her appointment — and James, defense attorneys argued the 120-day period that an interim US attorney is allowed to serve prior to confirmation from the Senate or approval from the district’s judges had already expired when Halligan took the position. This, they said, meant that Halligan’s appointment was unlawful. Currie agreed, writing that agreeing with the government’s position would give Trump and other officials authority “to evade the Senate confirmation process indefinitely by stacking successive 120-day appointments.” “The 120-day clock began running with Mr. Siebert’s appointment on January 21, 2025,” she wrote, referring to Erik Siebert who had been serving as the interim US Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia until he was pushed out in September. “When that clock expired on May 21, 2025, so too did the Attorney General’s appointment authority,” Currie wrote, adding that Attorney General Pam Bondi’s “attempt to install” Halligan “was invalid and that Ms. Halligan has been unlawfully serving in that role since September 22, 2025.” Currie wrote the unlawful appointment should “invalidate” Halligan’s actions — including presenting those two indictments to grand juries. Prosecutors who work under Halligan previously argued Bondi has full authority to appoint whomever she wants to the position if they are qualified, and that the 120-day period serves as a sort of check-in system for those interim US Attorneys appointed. “The implications of a contrary conclusion are extraordinary,” Currie wrote of the Halligan appointment. “It would…

By Mark Morales, CNN New York (CNN) — Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty Monday to charges stemming from a scheme to help lure unsuspecting gamblers to a mob-run poker game they didn’t know was fixed. The Hall of Famer, wearing a gray suit, appeared with his attorney in federal court in Brooklyn along with 30 other members of the scheme. “We enter a plea of not guilty your honor,” said his attorney Marc Mukasey. Billups, Portland’s head coach since 2021, is charged in an elaborate scheme in which marks were lured to participate in rigged poker games in part with the opportunity to play alongside the five-time NBA All-Star as well as others. Billups, US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said at a news conference last month, knowingly served as the so-called “face card,” to attract the “fish” to underground games in Miami, New York, Las Vegas and the Hamptons that they had no chance of winning. Those involved in the scheme used rigged card-shuffling machines, poker chip trays and even special contact lenses or eyeglasses that could read pre-marked cards, according to the indictments handed down by investigators. In some instances, the alleged conspirators used X-ray tables that reveal cards when they are placed face down. Nocella said the scheme, deemed “Zen Diagram” by the feds, “fleeced” victims out of tens of millions of dollars. One alleged victim lost $1.8 million. The money was then laundered by New York crime families, according to the indictments. Billups is currently on leave from the Trail Blazers. Tiago Splitter is taking on head coaching duties in the interim. Prosecutors discussed the distribution of what they called “voluminous” evidence and argued for a protective order so they could send evidence from electronics seized during arrest, phone records, surveillance images and other pieces of evidence. In all, prosecutors said about one terabyte of evidence would be available on a rolling basis. There was brief discussion to split the large group of defendants into smaller groups, but the judge decided to keep them together for now. All are due back in court March 4, when they will have access to the large ceremonial courtroom. US District Judge Ramon Reyes also told prosecutors that even though there is a lot of evidence and 31 defendants, he doesn’t want the case to drag on. “I want things to start in September of next year,” Reyes told prosecutors. Billups posted a $5 million dollar bond to secure his release. The bond, which was secured by his wife and daughter, used property in Colorado for collateral. Billups agreed to have no contact with witnesses, co-defendants or members of organized crime and was also told not to gamble. He’s also supposed to report any transactions over $25,000, except for legal fees. Billups also had to turn over his passport and had to report any travel to pre-trial services. “Come to court when you’re supposed to, don’t interact with any witnesses who are going to testify against you, and don’t commit any crimes,” Reyes told Billups. CNN’s Dana O’Neil contributed to this report. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — The holiday season is kicking into full gear at a time when affordability and the rising cost of living have escalated to crisis mode for many households. Still, some shoppers say they intend to spend more on holiday gifts than they did last year, while others plan to pull back. How are you approaching your holiday spending this year? Do you expect your paycheck to stretch far? Are you adjusting gift-giving or making other changes? If you’re interested in sharing your experience and perspective with a CNN reporter for possible inclusion in an upcoming story, we’d like to hear from you. We will not include anything in an upcoming article without first reaching out to you and interviewing you. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — New Zealand has announced plans to eradicate feral cats by 2050, as part of efforts to protect the country’s biodiversity. Speaking to Radio New Zealand on Thursday, conservation minister Tama Potaka said that feral cats are “stone cold killers” and would be added to the country’s Predator Free 2050 list, which aims to eradicate those animals that have a negative impact on species such as birds, bats, lizards and insects. Cats had previously been excluded from the list, which includes species such as stoats, ferrets, weasels, rats and possums, but Potaka used the interview to announce a U-turn. He defined a feral cat as a wild animal that lives independently of humans. “They kill to survive,” he said. Among the options on the table to eradicate feral cats are poisoned sausage bait and a type of poison that would be sprayed from a device on a tree as they walk past, Potaka said. “In order to boost biodiversity, to boost heritage landscape and to boost the type of place we want to see, we’ve got to get rid of some of these killers,” he said. In a statement published Friday, Potaka added more details to the plan. “We know people want their local reserves, beaches and bush tracks to be full of birds, not predators,” he said. “Feral cats are now found across Aotearoa New Zealand, from farms to forests, and they put huge pressure on native birds, bats, lizards and insects,” added Potaka. The ministry said that more than 100 short-tailed bats were killed in a single week by feral cats near the town of Ohakune on the North Island, and they have also contributed to the near-extinction of the southern dotterel on Stewart Island. “They also spread toxoplasmosis, which harms dolphins, affects people, and costs farmers through lost stock,” he said. The statement also revealed that more than 90% of the nearly 3,400 submissions received from the public as part of a recent consultation strategy backed improved feral cat management. Jessi Morgan, chief executive of the Predator Free New Zealand Trust, a conservation organization that works to protect the country’s native species, hailed the decision in an opinion piece published in local media outlet The Post on Friday. “In June, when the Department of Conservation opened the Predator Free 2050 strategy up for consultation, they asked the public about feral cats,” she wrote. “The response was loud and clear: feral cats belong on the target list.” Officials will release more details on the plan in an updated version of the Predator Free 2050 Strategy, which is scheduled for release in March. The statement also addressed concerns around the impact on pet cats. “New Zealand is full of proud cat owners, and domestic pets are not part of this Predator Free target,” Potaka said in the statement. “Responsible ownership, desexing, microchipping, and keeping cats away from wildlife, remains an important part of the solution.” The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.