On Monday, a federal judge dismissed without prejudice the criminal indictment against former FBI Director James Comey based on a technicality involving the appointment of the interim U.S. attorney who presented the case to a federal grand jury.

Unsurprisingly, Comey and others celebrated the dismissal as a victory, even as he acknowledged the likelihood that the charges could be refiled or that President Donald Trump's administration could come after him again in other ways, according to Newsmax.

Indeed, both the White House press secretary and the attorney general all but confirmed that Comey is not out of the woods yet, and that the dismissal and its underlying reasoning will be promptly appealed.

Indictment dismissed

In Monday's 29-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie, a Clinton appointee, determined that the criminal indictment against ex-FBI Director Comey was invalid and worthy of dismissal because the appointment of interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, was also invalid.

The judge cited a statute that authorizes the attorney general to appoint prosecutors to fill vacancies, albeit only for 120 days, after which the interim appointment authority transfers to the federal judges of the vacant district until such time that an appointee of the president is formally confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Using that logic, Currie not only dismissed Comey's indictment for lying to Congress during a 2020 committee hearing, but also the mortgage fraud and false statements indictment that Halligan had brought against Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Comey knows he'll be targeted again

In response to the dismissal, Comey posted a video statement to Instagram, in which he said, "I’m grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence and a reflection of what the Department of Justice has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking."

"This case mattered to me personally, obviously, but it matters most because a message has to be sent that the president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies," he continued, according to NBC News.

"I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again, and my attitude is going to be the same. I’m innocent," Comey added. "I am not afraid, and I believe in an independent federal judiciary, the gift from our founders that protects us from a would-be tyrant."

DOJ, White House vow to appeal dismissal of charges

Comey was correct in presuming that the Trump administration was not done attempting to prosecute him for his alleged misdeeds while leading the FBI, as both Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made it clear that the court's dismissal of his indictment on a technicality would not be the end of the story, per NBC News.

During a news conference in Memphis, Tennessee, Bondi insisted in reaction to the news that Halligan was an "excellent" attorney and that the Justice Department would "be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal."

Likewise, Leavitt also made it clear that the president continued to support Halligan in her interim U.S. attorney role, and stated, "Lindsey Halligan was legally appointed, and that’s the administration’s position."

Newsmax noted that the chief White House spokeswoman further confirmed that an appeal of the dismissal of Comey's indictment would be forthcoming, as the administration firmly believed that "the American people deserve accountability" for past transgressions by government officials.

The appeal or any refiling of charges will be interesting to watch, as Comey's defense lawyers and other legal experts insist that the statute of limitations for his alleged crimes has now expired, while the DOJ has conversely argued that the dismissal without prejudice paused the expiration date for six months to allow for any initial mistakes or oversights to be corrected.