President Donald Trump's now-disqualified prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, has now been ordered to explain to the court why she continues to call herself a U.S. attorney after she was formally found to be ineligible to hold the position.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that U.S. District Judge David J,. Novak – who Trump appointed to the Eastern District of Virginia during his first term – is now questioning whether Halligan made a false statement to the court by claiming the title of U.S. attorney. He gave the former prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia to provide her explanation within seven days.
In his three-page announcement, Novak noted that Halligan "identified herself therein as the United States Attorney for this District" in spite of "a binding Court Order entered by Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie on November 24, 2025" to disqualify her from the role. Novak demanded that Halligan "further explain why her identification does not constitute a false or misleading statement."
Judge Currie, who was first appointed by former President Bill Clinton, ruled in November that Halligan had been improperly appointed. Trump put her in the role after former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned. Siebert's departure came about after Trump complained that none of his political enemies had been indicted, and Siebert had insisted that there wasn't enough enemies to indict potential defendants like Comey and James.
In late December, Halligan described herself as "Lindsey Halligan, United States Attorney Eastern District of Virgina[sic] Florida Bar No. 109481 2100" in the signature block on legal filings. The spelling error quickly garnered mockery from various legal journalists and commentators, along with questions about whether she was able to still use the title given that a federal judge formally disqualified her.
After Halligan was disqualified in November, her indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) were thrown out. Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have since stopped new case filings in pending investigations due to the vacancy created by Halligan's disqualification.
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