Lindsey Halligan is the former insurance lawyer appointed by Trump as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. One in a series of unqualified United States Attorney appointments, Halligan was appointed with the mission to indict former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Leticia James. Trump appointed Halligan because prior attorneys in the position refused to indict Comey and James because the facts did not support indictment. Nonetheless, Halligan did what Trump put her there to do and secured indictments against Comey and James.
Those indictments were promptly dismissed when District Court Judge Cameron Currie ruled that Lindsey Halligan’s appointment was unlawful. The judge ruled those indictments, where she acted as the sole government attorney before the grand jury, a nullity. However, the judge did so “without prejudice,” meaning the government was free to try to re-indict Comey and James under legitimately serving attorneys. Two efforts to re-indict Leticia James resulted in humiliating grand jury no-bills, events so rare as to truly deserve the title of “black swans” (“a phenomenon that occurs even though it had been thought to be impossible”).
While the Trump Regime has appealed Judge Currie’s decision, no stay to that decision has been issued. Thus, the ruling that Lindsey Halligan is not a lawful United States Attorney remains in effect. Since then the Eastern District of Virginia has involved other attorneys in indictments brought there.
While involving other attorneys, Lindsey Halligan has continued to cosign indictments in the district under the title of “United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.” Yesterday a Trump appointed judge, in an exceptionally harsh decision, ordered that Lindsey Halligan explain why she is lying to the court. In an unrelated case Judge David Novak issued an order on the court’s own initiative. That exceptionally rare procedure means the court acted on its own, without prompting from a motion from any of the parties.
The order gives Lindsey Halligan seven days to explain “the basis for Ms. Halligan’s identification of herself as the United States Attorney, notwithstanding Judge Currie’s contrary ruling.” The judge also directed that “Ms. Halligan shall further explain why her identification does not constitute a false or misleading statement.” Ouch. The judge further demands that Halligan explain how representing herself as a United States Attorney before the court does not violate the rules of professional responsibility prohibiting lawyers from knowingly making “a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal” or a “a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services.”
Thus this Trump appointed judge is demanding that Lindsey Halligan show cause as to why he should not refer her to the Bar for disciplinary action. As such, Lindsey Halligan risks joining many other Trump attorneys disciplined by the Bar for unethical conduct.
Perhaps Lindsey Halligan should reconsider her acting career. Here, she appears in an episode of “South Beach Tow.”
