Lindsey Halligan, a former senior White House aide with no prior experience as a prosecutor, is now out of the post that President Trump appointed her to in eastern Virginia.
Her embattled status as an interim federal prosecutor led to the dismissal of controversial Justice Department cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump named Halligan to the Virginia post on Sept. 21, 2025 — one day after Erik Siebert, the district's former acting U.S. attorney, resigned under pressure from Trump, including repeated calls for criminal charges against James, Comey and others Trump perceived as enemies.
Federal judges repeatedly stated that Halligan, who once worked as a personal attorney for Trump, had no valid basis to identify herself as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, ruling that her predecessor, Siebert, had already exhausted the 120-day period for an acting federal prosecutor.
To legally occupy the job now, federal judges said, Halligan or any other potential prosecutor must be either Senate confirmed or appointed by a District Court.
Halligan and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi rejected the courts' interpretation in strong terms, saying in a court filing last week that U.S. District Judge David J. Novak was "flat wrong" and overstepping judicial powers.
Novak's response, issued Tuesday, was equally forceful, stating that any attempt by the administration to fill the prosecutor post by appointment would violate U.S. law "and the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution."
"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," the judge wrote.
In a Tuesday post on X, Bondi said Halligan's 120-day appointment to the job had expired and blamed her departure from the prosecutor's office on Senate Democrats and "multiple, unnecessary legal obstacles." She said Halligan, 36, "will continue to serve her country in other ways."
After Trump announced her appointment, Halligan rapidly secured criminal indictments against both Comey and James — each of whom pleaded not guilty. The Justice Department charged Comey with making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding, in connection with his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. James was charged with bank fraud and making a false statement.
But Halligan's contested job status threw the work of the prosecutor's office into turmoil after U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that her appointment was unlawful. Because of Halligan's "defective appointment" and prominent role in prosecuting Comey and James, Currie ruled, the indictments were set aside.
The Eastern District of Virginia is headquartered in Alexandria. As its U.S. Attorney's Office website notes, numerous influential jurists have held the top prosecutor's job there, including John Marshall, who went on to become chief justice of the Supreme Court.
As NPR reported in November, Halligan had previously drawn notice for her involvement in the Trump administration's review of more than half a dozen Smithsonian Institution museums, with the goal of aligning their cultural messages with the president.
Copyright 2026 NPR
