Justice Department’s Halligan Departs Amid Legal Controversy Over Appointment

Lindsey Halligan, who spearheaded high-profile indictments against two of President Donald Trump’s political opponents, has left her position as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday night.

Halligan’s departure comes as multiple federal judges questioned her legal authority to remain in the role following a November court ruling that deemed her appointment illegal. Her 120-day temporary appointment, which began in September, expired Tuesday.

“The circumstances that led to this outcome are deeply misguided,” Bondi said in a statement posted on social media. “We are living in a time when a democratically elected President’s ability to staff key law enforcement positions faces serious obstacles.”

The announcement capped a dramatic showdown between the Trump administration and federal judges over Halligan’s controversial tenure. A White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, Halligan had been appointed by Trump to the sensitive position in September following the administration’s forced removal of veteran prosecutor Erik Siebert.

During her brief tenure, Halligan secured indictments against two prominent Trump critics – former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. However, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled in November that Halligan had been illegally appointed and dismissed both cases, a decision the Justice Department has since appealed.

The judicial pushback intensified Tuesday with two separate court orders challenging Halligan’s authority. Chief Judge M. Hannah Lauck of the Eastern District of Virginia, an Obama appointee, directed a court clerk to publish a vacancy announcement for the position, explicitly noting that Halligan’s temporary appointment had expired.

In a more forceful action, U.S. District Judge David Novak – ironically a Trump appointee from his first term – issued an order striking “United States Attorney” from Halligan’s signature block on an indictment. Novak warned he would initiate disciplinary proceedings against Halligan if she continued representing herself with that title in court filings.

“No matter all of her machinations, Ms. Halligan has no legal basis to represent to this Court that she holds the position,” Novak wrote. “In short, this charade of Ms. Halligan masquerading as the United States Attorney for this District in direct defiance of binding court orders must come to an end.”

Novak’s sharp rebuke came after Justice Department leadership, including Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, filed a defiant response defending Halligan’s authority. The judge characterized their filing as containing “a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show” that fell “far beneath the level of advocacy expected” from Justice Department officials.

The controversy highlights ongoing tensions in the federal justice system under the second Trump administration. U.S. attorneys, who lead regional Justice Department offices across the country, are traditionally presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate. While attorneys general can directly install interim U.S. attorneys for 120 days, federal judges in the district thereafter have the authority to appoint a prosecutor until the Senate confirms a permanent replacement.

Although Trump has nominated Halligan for the permanent position, she has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. The standoff over her appointment illustrates the administration’s aggressive approach to installing loyalists in key prosecutorial positions while sidestepping traditional qualification requirements and confirmation processes.

Legal experts have noted that the unusual circumstances surrounding Halligan’s appointment and the subsequent judicial pushback represent an extraordinary chapter in the Justice Department’s history, where career prosecutors typically bring decades of experience to leadership roles.

The Eastern District of Virginia, which Halligan briefly led, is one of the nation’s most important federal prosecutor offices, handling numerous high-profile national security cases due to its proximity to Washington, D.C. and the Pentagon.