Lindsey Halligan has departed the Justice Division after a federal decide Tuesday barred her from referring to herself as a U.S. legal professional in courtroom filings, discovering that her continued use of the title “ignores a binding courtroom order” that disqualified her from the place final yr.
In a press release posted to social media Tuesday evening, Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi confirmed Halligan’s exit, calling her departure a “vital loss for the Division of Justice and the communities she served.”
Bondi additionally described the “circumstances that led as much as this end result” as “deeply misguided.”
The announcement adopted an 18-page ruling Tuesday from U.S. District Decide David Novak, who sits on the federal bench in Richmond, Virginia. Novak dominated that Halligan’s “continued identification of herself as the USA Legal professional for this District ignores a binding courtroom order and will not proceed,” and dominated that Halligan might face disciplinary proceedings if she continues to make use of that “improper moniker.”
Novak’s ruling got here after a November ruling from U.S. District Decide Cameron Currie discovered that Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. legal professional within the Jap District of Virginia was invalid and violated the Structure’s Appointments Clause. She dismissed the instances Halligan had introduced in opposition to former FBI Director James Comey and New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James. The Justice Division has appealed the ruling.
The statute invoked by the Trump administration to nominate Halligan permits an interim U.S. legal professional to serve for 120 days. After that, the interim U.S. legal professional could also be prolonged by the U.S. district courtroom judges for the area.
Earlier this month, Novak ordered Halligan to supply the idea for her repeated use of the title of U.S. legal professional and clarify why it “doesn’t represent a false or deceptive assertion,” after she listed herself on an indictment returned within the district in December as a “United States legal professional and particular legal professional.”
High Justice Division officers defended Halligan’s makes an attempt to stay in her place as a U.S. legal professional in courtroom filings, accusing the Trump-appointed decide of “gross abuse of energy” and trying to “coerce the Govt Department into conformity.”
The submitting, signed by Halligan, Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi and Deputy Legal professional Basic Todd Blanche, referred to as Novak’s transfer an “inquisition,” “insult,” and a “cudgel” in opposition to the manager department. The Justice Division argued that Currie’s ruling in November utilized solely to the Comey and James instances and didn’t bar Halligan from calling herself U.S. legal professional in different instances that she oversees.
Nevertheless, earlier Tuesday, previous to Bondi’s announcement that Halligan was departing the Justice Division, the DOJ had reversed course, telling prosecutors to cease referring to Halligan as U.S. legal professional and to confer with her as a substitute as particular legal professional going ahead, in accordance with a supply conversant in the matter. CBS Information has reached out to the Justice Division for clarification.
In his ruling, Novak wrote that the Justice Division’s argument “rings hole,” and “basically misunderstands” the authorized challenge at query.
“Decide Currie, talking for all district judges on this District, discovered Ms. Halligan’s appointment as Interim United States Legal professional illegal and issued two orders dismissing indictments, each of which had been premised immediately on that rationale,” Novak wrote. “These Orders, although at the moment on enchantment, haven’t been overturned or stayed, and thus represent the regulation of this District. Having been discovered by this Courtroom to be unlawfully appointed, Ms. Halligan lacks lawful authority to characterize herself as the USA Legal professional earlier than this Courtroom.”
Novak additionally criticized the standard of the Justice Division’s response to his order, stating that it had “pointless rhetoric” that “accommodates a stage of vitriol extra acceptable for a cable information discuss present and falls far beneath the extent of advocacy anticipated from litigants on this Courtroom, notably the Division of Justice.”
As a substitute of working by “quite a few authorized choices” that may have allowed her to establish herself as U.S. legal professional whereas the enchantment of Currie’s ruling continues, “she elected to easily ignore legitimate courtroom orders.”
“The Courtroom finds it inconceivable that the Division of Justice, which holds an obligation to faithfully execute the legal guidelines of the USA even these with which it could have disagreement, would repeatedly ignore courtroom orders, whereas concurrently prosecuting residents for breaking the regulation,” Novak wrote. “If the Courtroom had been to permit Ms. Halligan and the Division of Justice to choose and select which orders that they are going to comply with, the identical must be true for different litigants and our system of justice would crumble.”
Halligan is a former insurance coverage lawyer who was a member of President Trump’s authorized staff and joined Mr. Trump’s White Home employees after he received a second time period in 2024. In September, Halligan was chosen to function interim U.S. legal professional for the Jap District of Virginia after her predecessor abruptly left the put up amid issues he could be compelled out for failing to prosecute James.
She was appointed to her put up on Sept. 22 for a complete of 120 days, which Novak mentioned expired Tuesday. Whereas Halligan has been nominated by the White Home, neither of Virginia’s Democratic senators has signed on to advance the nomination for a vote within the Senate.
Days after she was appointed, Halligan sought and secured a two-count indictment in opposition to Comey alleging he lied to Congress throughout testimony in September 2020. James, the New York legal professional common, was indicted on financial institution fraud expenses in early October. Each pleaded not responsible and pursued a number of arguments to have their respective indictments dismissed, together with the validity of Halligan’s appointment and claims of vindictive prosecution.
“The Courtroom acknowledges that Ms. Halligan lacks the prosecutorial expertise that has lengthy been the norm for these nominated to the place of United States Legal professional on this District,” Novak wrote. “Consequently, and in gentle of her inexperience, the Courtroom grants Ms. Halligan the advantage of the doubt and refrains from referring her for additional investigation and disciplinary motion relating to her misrepresentations to this Courtroom presently.”
Additionally on Tuesday, the chief federal decide within the Jap District of Virginia posted that the courtroom is in search of candidates to exchange Halligan. Federal regulation says that judges in a district and not using a Senate-confirmed U.S. legal professional are tasked with deciding on a substitute, though President Trump might fireplace whomever the courtroom chooses to succeed Halligan.
