Dismissal of the Comey and James cases as as vindictive prosecutions would make clear that that kind of lawlessness cannot happen in the United States, which still has the rule of law, at least for now. That needs to happen, and I believe it will. Today's ruling is a good first step though.

In contrast, a dismissal of these cases as illegal vindictive prosecutions not only would ensure that they can't just be charged again later, it would also call these cases out for what they are -- political prosecutions demanded by the leader of his perceived enemies.

In the James case, the charges may be able to be filed again by a properly appointed US Attorney even if this dismissal holds; in the Comey case, that may not be possible because the statute of limitations has run, so it's too late to bring new charges.

So this isn't really technical; it gets to the crux of why these prosecutions are so dangerous. That said, it's also not the most important basis for a dismissal.

This feels like a technical reason to dismiss these cases. But Lindsey Halligan was put in place outside of normal procedures specifically in order to bring these cases that Trump wanted brought, after her predecessor, also picked by Trump, refused to do so because the evidence didn't support it.

This is a president deciding who he doesn't like and wants prosecuted, even when the facts and law don't support prosecuting, and then making it happen. That becomes a way for him to take out any opposition, which is something that happens in authoritarian countries, not democracies.

In both cases, career prosecutors and even a Trump appointee recommended against prosecuting because of insufficient evidence. But Trump forced out his own appointee who wasn't willing to prosecute and brought in a loyalist who was. That loyalist has now indicted both of these perceived opponents.

Whatever people on any part of the political spectrum may think of Comey, no one should be okay with the president demanding that political opponents be prosecuted and then using his power to make it happen. If that's okay, none of us are safe.

He then forced out a prosecutor who reportedly wouldn't indict because career prosecutors didn't find enough evidence to do so, and appointed a loyalist with no prosecutorial experience, who reportedly overrode the recommendation from career prosecutors not to indict.