Donald Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan, a former insurance attorney who brought two unsuccessful cases against two of the president's perceived enemies, is no longer a Justice Department employee, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
Halligan, who lacked any prior prosecutorial experience, stepped down last week from her proclaimed role as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, a position a judge found she unlawfully held. It was not entirely clear last week whether Halligan would assume a new role at the Justice Department, as Alina Habba did after federal appeals court judges upheld her disqualification as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey in December. On Monday, the 3rd Circuit declined Habba's request for a full appeals court re-hearing of last month's decision by a three-judge panel.
But two sources familiar with the matter said Halligan is no longer a Justice Department employee. It is unclear whether she has a new job outside the department.
A federal judge ruled last week that Halligan had to stop “masquerading” as the Eastern District’s top federal prosecutor.
U.S. District Judge David Novak, a 2019 Trump nominee, said he would allow Halligan to avoid disciplinary proceedings into whether she misrepresented herself to the court “in light of her inexperience.”
“The Court recognizes that Ms. Halligan lacks the prosecutorial experience that has long been the norm for those nominated to the position of United States Attorney in this District,” he wrote in an opinion last week. “Consequently, and in light of her inexperience, the Court grants Ms. Halligan the benefit of the doubt and refrains from referring her for further investigation and disciplinary action regarding her misrepresentations to this Court at this time.”
Both Habba and Halligan had previously served as personal attorneys for Trump, as have other top Justice Department employees.
Trump announced Sept. 20 that he was appointing Halligan to the position of U.S. attorney — a day after he forced out his initial pick, Erik Siebert, who resisted pressure to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump's announcement came after he had posted a message on Truth Social urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to push ahead with prosecutions of Comey, James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
Comey was indicted on charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation, while James was indicted on charges of bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. Both pleaded not guilty.
U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie dismissed their indictments in November after finding that Halligan, who presented those cases to the grand jury on her own, had been "unlawfully appointed."
According to federal statute, people in that post cannot serve for more than 120 days after being appointed unless their nomination is confirmed by the Senate.
The Senate had not confirmed Siebert, so federal judges in the Eastern District of Virginia exercised their independent appointment authority to keep him on beyond the 120-day limit.
Lawyers for Comey and James contended that after Siebert was forced out, the responsibility for naming his replacement belonged to the judges, not to Trump or Bondi.
Despite Currie's ruling, Halligan continued to be identified as U.S. attorney in court filings, drawing repeated criticism from judges in the district.
U.S. District Judge David Novak last week issued an order barring “Ms. Halligan from representing herself as the United States Attorney in any pleading or otherwise before this Court until such time as she may lawfully hold the office either by Senate confirmation or appointment by this Court ... should either occur.”
Later that day, Bondi announced that Halligan was leaving her post.
Halligan was nominated for the job a second time Jan. 13, but the Senate has not moved forward with her nomination. The Justice Department is also appealing the court rulings that found her appointment was unlawful.
The district's top judge, Chief Judge M. Hannah Lauck, meanwhile, entered an order last week directing the clerk of the court to post a vacancy announcement for Halligan's old job, soliciting applications from attorneys interested in filling the position of interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
