Former Trump lawyer Halligan defends US prosecutor status in wake of Comey, James dismissals

FIRST ON FOX: Former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan argued in a new court filing Tuesday that a judge’s November ruling dismissing two criminal cases does not undermine her authority to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia or to represent the federal government in ongoing cases.

The new filing, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital, comes amid a swirl of leadership questions within the U.S. prosecutor's office for the Eastern District of Virginia, dubbed the "rocket docket" due to the court's swift handling of federal cases, including many high-profile national security cases.

It also comes just hours after the news that Robert McBride, a longtime federal prosecutor and second-highest-ranking U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, was dismissed from his role amid broader disagreements with DOJ.

U.S. District Judge James Currie in November ruled Halligan was unlawfully appointed to her role as interim U.S. attorney for the district, and ordered dismissed without prejudice the criminal cases she brought against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. (The Justice Department has appealed both dismissals to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.)

The back-and-forth over Halligan's status came under fresh scrutiny last week, after U.S. District Judge David Novak issued an unprompted court order for Halligan to explain to the court, in writing, her continued representation as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and why that "does not constitute a false or misleading statement," which Novak suggested could be grounds for disciplinary proceedings.

Novak further asserted that Currie's determination on the unlawful nature of Halligan's appointment represents "binding precedent in this district" and should not be ignored. 

The response filed Tuesday by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Halligan, vehemently disputes those claims. 

"The Court’s thinly veiled threat to use attorney discipline to cudgel the Executive Branch into conforming its legal position in all criminal prosecutions to the views of a single district judge is a gross abuse of power and an affront to the separation of powers," they said Tuesday.

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"Compounding those legal errors, the Court fails even to correctly identify the date of the indictment in this case – a factual mistake that forecloses the premise of misconduct on which the Court’s inquiry is based," they said.

They stated further that Halligan's identification "is correct and consistent with the Department of Justice’s internal guidance, and at minimum reflects a contested legal position that the United States is entitled to maintain notwithstanding a single district judge’s contrary view."

In addition, they said, Currie's determination on the validity of Halligan's appointment as it relates to Comey's and James's criminal cases is not binding – nor does it preclude the Justice Department from challenging that determination, or Halligan from legitimately heading up the U.S. attorney's office on other cases and matters.

"A contested legal position does not become a factual misrepresentation simply because one district judge has rejected it," the Justice Department said Tuesday. "In any event, this Court has no authority to strike Ms. Halligan’s title from the Government’s signature block." 

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"The bottom line is that Ms. Halligan has not ‘misrepresented’ anything and the Court is flat wrong to suggest that any change to the Government’s signature block is warranted in this or any other case – particularly where that suggestion rests on an objectively incorrect chronology," they said in the filing.

The new filing comes after months of back-and-forth over the decision to install Halligan, Trump's former personal lawyer with no prosecutorial experience, as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last fall. 

The Justice Department, for its part, has doubled down on its defense of Halligan, and senior Trump officials have blasted the judges in question for engaging in what they described as a "campaign of bias and hostility" against Halligan.   

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"As Attorney General Bondi and President Trump know well, Lindsey Halligan is an effective U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting violent crime at the hands of illegal aliens, prosecuting the alleged distribution by a Democrat operative of child sexual abuse material, and even prosecuting alleged money laundering by a Venezuelan national, which is exactly why her opponents want to stop her," a spokesperson for the Justice Department told Fox News Digital. 

McBride's dismissal from EDVA was confirmed to Fox News Digital by individuals familiar with the matter, citing what they described as a refusal to take on significant cases, such a immigration-related cases — involving sanctuary city policies and drug enforcement issues, which have long been priorities of the Trump administration — and other matters. 

Currie ruled in November that Halligan was unlawfully appointed to the role. Because Halligan was the sole prosecutor who secured the criminal indictments against Comey and James, Currie ruled that the indictments were invalid, dismissed Comey's case and James' case "without prejudice." 

That detail leaves the door open for the government to secure new indictments, should it choose to do so.

This is a developing news story. Check back soon for updates.