Federal judge orders Lindsey Halligan to explain US attorney title use
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A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Lindsey Halligan to explain why she identified herself as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in a criminal indictment despite an earlier ruling that her appointment was unlawful.
U.S. District Judge David Novak said in a three-page order that Halligan must submit a written response within seven days justifying the use of the title and explaining why it should not be removed from the indictment, according to court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.
“Ms. Halligan will explain why her identification does not constitute a false or misleading statement,” Novak said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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Lindsey Halligan, special assistant to the president, speaks with a reporter outside the White House on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
President Donald Trump appointed Halligan as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia following the resignation of Erik Siebert.
A federal judge in November dismissed the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding that Halligan was unlawfully appointed and therefore lacked authority to bring the charges.
In his order, Novak cited U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie’s Nov. 24 decision, stating that the ruling was on appeal but no stay was granted, meaning the ruling was binding on the court.
Lindsey Halligan, attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump, holds ceremonial remarks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Trump put pressure Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) argued in December that the practice allows Democrats to block Republican judges and U.S. attorney nominees in an effort to eliminate the Senate’s “blue slide” tradition.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “If they say no, then it’s over for this very qualified Republican nominee. Only a truly far-left Democrat can be confirmed. It’s shocking that Republicans under Senator Chuck G are allowing this fraud to continue. It’s unfair to Republicans, it’s not Constitutional.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) is interviewed by FOX News Channel’s Bret Baier outside the West Wing of the White House on Monday, September 29, 2025 in Washington. ((AP Photo/Alex Brandon))
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“I take this opportunity to ask Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a great man, to do something, ideally end the Blue Slips. Too many GREAT REPUBLICANS are being packaged, PACKED. None of them are being confirmed!!!”
Alina Habba, another Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, announced Dec. 8 that she would resign as the chief federal prosecutor in New Jersey after an appeals court ruled that she, too, held the post unlawfully.
