Florida Bar walks back statement on investigation into Halligan, now says there is none

Florida Bar Retracts Statement on Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor

The Florida Bar has reversed its position regarding an investigation into Lindsey Halligan, a former acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia who served during the Trump administration, creating confusion about the status of any potential ethics inquiry.

On Friday, Florida Bar spokesperson Jennifer Krell Davis issued a statement declaring that her organization had “erroneously” informed a watchdog group about a pending investigation into Halligan. This directly contradicted the Bar’s previous communications, which had explicitly confirmed an “open file” on the attorney.

“The Florida Bar wrote a letter to the complainant erroneously stating that there is a pending Bar investigation,” Davis said. “There is no such pending Bar investigation.” She added that while the Bar had received a complaint about Halligan, it was merely “monitoring the ongoing legal proceedings underlying the complaint.”

The about-face follows a February 4 letter sent by a Bar representative to the Campaign for Accountability, a nonpartisan watchdog group, which had requested an ethics inquiry into Halligan’s conduct during her controversial tenure at the Justice Department. That letter stated: “We are aware of these developments and have been monitoring them closely. We already have an investigation pending.”

When contacted by The Associated Press on Thursday, Davis had confirmed an “open file” on Halligan but declined further comment, citing confidentiality rules for “active Florida discipline cases.” Less than 24 hours later, the Bar completely reversed this position.

The confusion has left the Campaign for Accountability puzzled. Michelle Kuppersmith, the organization’s executive director, noted on Friday that the Bar had not informed them directly about any error in its earlier correspondence. “It’s hard to reconcile” the conflicting statements, Kuppersmith said, adding: “If there is no longer an investigation into Halligan, the question is why not, given that three judges indicated she engaged in conduct that appears to violate ethics rules.”

Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University and Florida Bar member, suggested the most likely explanation is that someone at the Bar “jumped the gun” by confirming an investigation prematurely. Typically, such information remains confidential until a grievance committee makes a formal finding to proceed, protecting individuals from reputational damage based on unsubstantiated complaints.

The complaint against Halligan stems from her brief but contentious tenure as acting U.S. attorney. Appointed by the Trump administration in September after her predecessor was effectively forced out, Halligan had previously served as one of Trump’s attorneys but possessed no prosecutorial experience. Her appointment came amid reported pressure to bring charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both frequent targets of Trump’s criticism.

During her tenure, Halligan secured indictments against both Comey and James. However, she quickly encountered legal obstacles as multiple federal judges questioned the legitimacy of her appointment and her handling of cases. In one particularly notable incident, a judge reprimanded Halligan for making “fundamental misstatements of the law” to a grand jury, including incorrectly suggesting that Comey lacked Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination.

Both the Comey and James prosecutions were eventually dismissed following successful challenges to Halligan’s appointment, with courts finding she had been unlawfully installed in the position. Halligan resigned in January.

When contacted about the Florida Bar’s contradictory statements, Halligan responded on Friday evening with a brief email asking, “Where’s my apology?”

Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi defended Halligan on social media Friday, posting on X that the “Florida Bar ‘investigation’ of Lindsey Halligan is totally fake news.” Bondi added that Halligan “not only did nothing wrong — she did a great job.”

The Eastern District of Virginia U.S. Attorney’s Office is widely considered one of the Justice Department’s most prestigious prosecution units, handling numerous high-profile national security cases and complex federal prosecutions. The unusual circumstances surrounding Halligan’s appointment and brief tenure have raised concerns among legal ethics experts about the politicization of federal prosecutorial positions.