U.S. News
Federal Judges Seek Replacement for Disputed DOJ Role
Clear Facts
- Federal judges have posted a job opening for the U.S. Attorney position in the Eastern District of Virginia, previously held by Lindsey Halligan.
- An order instructed the vacancy be announced on various platforms, including the court’s website and local newspapers.
- A judge previously found Halligan’s appointment unlawful, and she has been pressed to explain her continued service in the role.
Federal judges are searching for a new U.S. Attorney to replace Lindsey Halligan in Virginia after a judicial order declared her appointment unlawful. The vacancy was publicly announced across multiple platforms as required by the court.
Halligan faced questioning from Judge David Novak regarding her ongoing claim to the post despite the court’s findings. Novak formally requested Halligan to explain why she continues to represent herself as the United States Attorney, challenging the validity of her appointment.
“The Court’s thinly veiled threat to use attorney discipline to cudgel the Executive Branch into conforming its legal position in all criminal prosecutions to the views of a single district judge is a gross abuse of power and an affront to the separation of powers,” Halligan responded in a Jan. 13 filing.
Novak criticized Halligan’s written response, stating it “contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show and falls far beneath the level of advocacy expected from litigants in this Court, particularly the Department of Justice.”
He further wrote, “No matter all of her machinations, Ms. Halligan has no legal basis to represent to this Court that she holds the position. And any such representation going forward can only be described as a false statement made in direct defiance of valid court orders. 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 Department of Justice has not issued a comment regarding the situation. Halligan had assumed the role after Erik Siebert’s departure, which followed reported pressure from President Trump to pursue charges. Federal judges have disqualified Halligan and four other attorneys in similar cases for unlawful appointments.
Under federal law, district courts may appoint a United States Attorney temporarily until a replacement is confirmed.
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