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The interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia left her post after completing a 120-day appointment amid a legal standoff in which a federal judge questioned her authority, declined to appoint a successor and triggered an appeal over separation of powers.
Former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan announced her departure Tuesday, saying a federal judge ruled in November that her appointment was invalid and that only the district court had the authority to name an interim successor following Erik Siebert’s exit.
She said the ruling led the court to treat her appointment as disqualifying, including striking her name from court filings.
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Former interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan said her exit followed a court ruling that invalidated her appointment and created a power vacuum now on appeal. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I was subjected to baseless accusations of lying to a tribunal and making false or misleading statements,” Halligan wrote. “I was ordered to respond to sua sponte orders and to personally sign filings explaining why my name appeared on pleadings, diverting time and resources from public safety responsibilities. Assistant U.S. Attorneys were told in open court that I should resign.”
She said that even after declaring her appointment invalid, the district court did not take the step its own reading of the law required by appointing a new U.S. attorney to fill the role.
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Attorney General Pam Bondi praised former interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan’s service, calling her departure a significant loss for the Justice Department. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
Instead, she said the court treated her as though she had been removed by striking her name from filings and declaring her appointment unlawful, while taking no action to fill what it said was an existing vacancy.
“In short, the court took no action to fill the vacancy it said already existed,” Halligan wrote. “The result was a vacuum: the Executive Branch was told it lacked appointment authority, and the Judiciary declined to exercise the authority it claimed was exclusively its own. That contradiction is now on appealnow on appeal.”
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Attorney General Pam Bondi praised Halligan’s tenure as interim U.S. attorney, saying she served with distinction and focused on prosecuting violent offenders to protect Eastern Virginia’s more than six million residents.
“Democratic Senators weaponized the blue slip process, making it impossible for Lindsey’s term as United States Attorney to continue following the expiration of her 120-day appointment,” Bondi wrote on X. “Despite multiple, unnecessary legal obstacles placed in her path, Lindsey stepped forward at a critical juncture for our Nation and fulfilled her responsibilities with courage and resolve.”
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“Her departure is a significant loss for the Department of Justice and the communities she served,” Bondi continued. “While we will feel her absence keenly, we are confident that she will continue to serve her country in other ways.”
Bondi said the circumstances surrounding Halligan’s departure were “deeply misguided,” adding that the Justice Department would continue seeking review of decisions she said, “hinder our ability to keep the American people safe.”
