WASHINGTON (AP) — Lindsey Halligan, who as a top Justice Department prosecutor pursued indictments against a pair of President Donald Trump's adversaries, is leaving her position, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday night.
Halligan's departure comes as her 120-day tenure as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia had expired and as judges were raising questions about the legitimacy of her appointment.
One judge on Tuesday solicited applicants for a replacement and the other prohibited Lindsey Halligan from continuing to represent herself in his court as a United States attorney.
The dual orders from separate judges marked a dramatic new front in an ongoing clash between the Trump administration and the federal court over the legitimacy of Halligan’s appointment. A White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience, Halligan was picked for the role by President Donald Trump in September only to have a judge two months later rule that the appointment was illegal.
Similar disputes have occurred in other districts across the country, where judges have rejected Trump administration efforts to install acting prosecutors outside conventional protocol.
Halligan was named to the job on an acting basis in September after the Trump administration effectively forced out veteran prosecutor Erik Siebert amid pressure to bring charges against two of Trump's political foes, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Watch: Legal experts alarmed by leadership changes at Virginia U.S. Attorney’s Office
Halligan secured the indictments, but the win was short-lived. In November, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that Halligan had been illegally appointed as an acting U.S. attorney and dismissed both cases. The Justice Department has appealed that ruling.
The U.S. attorneys who serve atop dozens of regional Justice Department offices across the country are typically appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Attorneys general are empowered to directly install interim U.S. attorneys who can serve for 120 days, after which federal judges in the district have the authority to appoint a prosecutor to serve until the vacancy is filled.
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