A federal judge has thrown out criminal charges against former FBI director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought both cases was improperly installed — a sharp rebuke to President Trump’s attempts to bend the justice system to his will.

Judge Cameron McGowan Currie issued the back-to-back dismissals, finding that Lindsey Halligan, the attorney selected by Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, had no lawful authority to act as a U.S. attorney when she filed the indictments. Halligan, a former White House staffer, was tapped through an irregular process and began issuing charges within days, targeting two of the president’s most frequent political enemies.

In her Monday ruling dismissing the charges against Comey, Judge Currie wrote: “I agree with Mr. Comey that the attorney general’s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid. And because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice.”

She reached the same conclusion in the case against Letitia James, who had been accused of misleading financial institutions to obtain a better mortgage rate. With Halligan’s appointment invalidated, the charges collapsed.

Because the dismissals were issued without prejudice, the federal government could attempt to refile the cases — though that would require resolving the legal and constitutional questions surrounding Halligan’s appointment.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal both rulings rather than allow two of its most politically charged prosecutions to die in court.