That's probably accurate that there wasn't a true bill, but it's one of those things that I don't think has actually been tested.

The specific circumstances where the foreman signed off on the second indictment with 2 charges instead of 3 without the rest of the grand jury suing the exact bill is really weird. But if it weren't for the statue of limitations it would be an easy remedy - just take it back to the grand jury.

And if it were a different technical error, there's a 6- month period after the SoL in which an indictment that's thrown out of techical grounds can be corrected.

But the combination of the 2 is unprecedented as far as I know, and there's a legitimate legal question as to whether it's a bad indictment that should be thrown on on technical grounds (giving 6 months to re-file) or if it simply wasn't an indictment at all.

And now with the whole thing being thrown out because Halligan isn't actually a US Attorney, it's even more confusing - especially when it comes to prosecutorial misconduct she may not have committed since she wasn't actually a prosecutor.

It's a fascinating train-wreck.