Washington– Two judges in Virginia refuse The Trump administration’s arguments are that of a White House loyalist He can continue to serve as the state’s top federal prosecutor, With one on Tuesday asking for replacement orders The other is prohibited Lindsay Halligan from continuing to represent herself In his court as attorney of the United States.
The dual orders by separate judges represent a dramatic new front in an ongoing struggle between the Trump administration and the federal court over the legality of Halligan’s appointment. She is a White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, and President Donald Trump chose her for this role only last September to appoint her as a judge. Two months later it was ruled that the appointment was illegal.
The Trump administration kept Halligan in office despite that ruling, but on Tuesday, two judges made clear it was time to end her term. Similar disputes have occurred in other districts across the country, with judges rejecting other Trump administration efforts to appoint acting prosecutors outside traditional protocol.
In one order, Hannah Lauck, chief judge of the Eastern District of Virginia and a nominee for President Barack Obama, directed a clerk to post a vacancy announcement on the court’s website and with the media and said she “seeks expressions of interest in serving in this position.” The judge noted that the 120-day appointment granted to Halligan, who has since been nominated by Trump but not confirmed by the Senate, will expire on Tuesday.
In a separate order, U.S. District Judge David Novak said he removed the phrase “U.S. Attorney” from the signature of the indictment in a case before him, barring her from continuing to represent herself with that title. He said he would initiate disciplinary proceedings against Halligan if she violated his order and continued to identify herself in court filings as a U.S. attorney, and said other signatories could be subject to discipline as well.
“Regardless of all her machinations, Ms. Halligan has no legal basis to represent to this court that she holds this position. Any such representation in the future can only be characterized as a false statement made in direct defiance of the court’s valid orders,” Novak wrote. “In short, this charade by Ms. Halligan masquerading as the United States Attorney for this district in direct defiance of the court’s binding orders must end.”
The order issued by Novak, who was appointed by Trump to the bench during the Republican president’s first term in office, came after A Presenting a challenge from District Attorney Pam Bondi and Deputy District Attorney Todd Blanche They stood behind Halligan’s authority and accused the judge of abusing his power by demanding that Halligan explain why she continued to identify herself as a US attorney.
“Ms. Halligan’s response, joined by both the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a news talk show, and falls far short of the level of advocacy expected of the litigants on this court, especially the Department of Justice,” Novak wrote.
“The Court will not engage in similar treatment, and instead will analyze the few points that Ms. Halligan makes to justify her continued position as United States Attorney before the Court,” he added.
Halligan was appointed to the position on an acting basis in September after the Trump administration effectively forced veteran prosecutor Eric Seibert to resign amid pressure to bring charges against two of Trump’s political enemies, former FBI Director James Comey and the New York attorney general.
Halligan got indicted but the win was short-lived. In November, US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that Halligan was illegally appointed as acting US Attorney.