Comey attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement that his reading of the ruling suggests the case can't be refiled because the five-year statute of limitations has expired since the indictment was brought.
Fitzgerald said the ruling "indicates that because the indictment is void, the statute of limitations has run and there can be no further indictment."
The Justice Department has said in court papers that it believes the case could still move forward because of U.S. Code 3288. The federal statute says in part, “Whenever an indictment or information charging a felony is dismissed for any reason after the period prescribed by the applicable statute of limitations has expired, a new indictment may be returned in the appropriate jurisdiction within six calendar months of the date of the dismissal of the indictment or information.”
Comey's attorneys have countered that the six-month grace period doesn't apply in this case because Halligan didn't have the power to bring an indictment to begin with, so all of her official actions are void — a prospect the judge expressly agreed with.
