Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor handpicked by Donald Trump to indict two of the president’s political enemies, has been left out of discussions about whether she can still be considered employed in a top U.S. attorney’s office, according to a report.
Halligan, a former Miss Colorado beauty pageant contestant with no prior experience in criminal law, was ruled by a judge to be unlawfully serving as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, therefore voiding the charges she brought against former FBI Director James Comey and New York state Attorney General Letitia James.
The Department of Justice is still determining how it can pursue the cases against Comey and James as part of Trump’s revenge tour, with Halligan’s role as a top federal prosecutor in limbo following the decision from U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie. A source told CNN that Halligan is not involved in internal DOJ discussions about whether the department will continue the cases without her, and it is not even clear whether she will report to her office in Alexandria on Monday.
A source added that Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke with Halligan after Currie, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, ruled that Trump’s former personal attorney was serving unlawfully as a federal prosecutor but offered no clarity on whether she still has a job.
The confusion over Halligan’s status was part of a CNN report detailing the chaotic and gaffe-filled 63-day tenure at the Virginia office. Halligan was tapped by Trump and named interim U.S. attorney after her predecessor, Erik Siebert, resigned after refusing to bow to pressure to charge Comey and James with disputed allegations of lying to Congress and fraud, respectively.
Comey was charged by Halligan’s office just days after Trump publicly complained to Bondi on Truth Social in September that “nothing is being done” about prosecuting his enemies, in a post that was reportedly supposed to be a direct message.
Last month, the inexperienced Halligan was accused of possible prosecutorial misconduct after it emerged that a grand jury did not see the full and final indictment it was supposed to approve before the foreperson signed the charging document against Comey.
The DOJ is considering appealing the ruling that declared Halligan’s appointment unlawful and may still try to refile charges against Comey and James.
An official close to DOJ headquarters denied to CNN that Halligan is being excluded from discussions about whether she is still considered a federal prosecutor and said the department will issue a memo stating that Halligan was not removed as a result of Currie’s ruling.
An internal email from Justice Department officials, seen by CNN, instructed the U.S. attorney’s office to refer to Halligan with the twice-misspelled title of “Unites States Attorny,” as well as “special ”U.S. Attorney.”
As of early Monday morning, Halligan is still listed as the lead attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia’s website.
The Daily Beast has contacted the DOJ and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia for comment.
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