By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Tuesday ordered Lindsey Halligan, a prosecutor aligned with President Donald Trump, to stop referring to herself as a “U.S. Attorney,” suggesting the Justice Department is defying a court order that found she was unlawfully appointed.
U.S. District Judge David Novak said Halligan, who unsuccessfully pursued criminal cases against two of Trump’s adversaries, must stop identifying herself as the top federal prosecutor in Virginia’s Eastern District in court filings before him, and he described her continued use of the title as a “charade.”
Novak, who was nominated by Trump during his first term, threatened disciplinary proceedings against Halligan and any other prosecutor who continues using the title in his court.
“No matter all of her machinations, Ms. Halligan has no legal basis to represent to this Court that she holds the position,” Novak wrote. “And any such representation going forward can only be described as a false statement made in direct defiance of valid court orders.”
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ruling escalates a confrontation between the Trump administration and Virginia’s federal judges over Halligan, who Trump handpicked to lead investigations into former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, two of Trump’s perceived political enemies.
Also on Tuesday, the chief judge of the court solicited applications for a court-appointed successor to Halligan.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche suggested on social media that Trump would fire any replacement named by the court.
A different federal judge, Cameron McGowan Currie, threw out criminal cases against Comey and James in November, finding that Halligan was not lawfully appointed and had no authority to bring the cases.
Currie determined Halligan’s appointment violated a federal law limiting U.S. Attorneys to one 120-day interim stint. The Trump administration is waiting for the Senate to consider Halligan’s nomination for the post. Virginia’s two Democratic senators can block the nomination under a longstanding Senate tradition.
The Justice Department is appealing the ruling, but has not sought to pause Currie’s order. Justice Department leaders have argued that Currie’s ruling was confined to the cases against Comey and James and does not apply to other cases.
In a defiant filing last week, the department accused Novak of exceeding his authority by questioning Halligan’s appointment.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Novak said the department’s filing “contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable-news talk show and falls far beneath the level of advocacy expected from litigants in this Court, particularly the Department of Justice.”
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Andy Sullivan and Cynthia Osterman)
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