As Lindsey Halligan was driving again to the Washington, DC, space Monday, Trump’s handpicked US lawyer to run the Alexandria, Virginia, workplace was attempting to determine whether or not she nonetheless had a job. Attorney General Pam Bondi referred to as her immediately, however supplied no readability, a supply acquainted with the decision advised NCS.
Earlier that day, whereas Halligan was visiting a prosecutors’ workplace in her district almost two hours south in Richmond, a federal choose decided she was unlawfully serving within the place. The Justice Department, the choose discovered, had already used up the 120-day interval put aside for interim US attorneys earlier than their nominations by the president should be evaluated by the Senate.
The choose, Cameron McGowan Currie, subsequently decided the indictment in opposition to former FBI Director James Comey, in addition to Halligan’s legal case in opposition to New York Attorney General Letitia James, have been invalid.
Another choose had days earlier than slammed Halligan’s lawyering earlier than the grand jury within the Comey case as so problematic, it raised questions on whether or not the case might proceed.
The dismissal of Comey’s case led to a scramble among the many Justice Department prosecutors within the workplace she led, in a dramatic and polarizing trend, for 9 weeks. The prosecutors now didn’t know whether or not they need to nonetheless list Halligan as their supervisor on courtroom filings. Halligan herself was unclear and ready on directives from Justice Department headquarters, a supply advised NCS.
Even now, days later, Halligan’s future as a high prosecutor stays in a type of purgatory — with Justice Department officers nonetheless working via how they could carry the instances in opposition to Comey and James again to life — and her place contained in the US lawyer’s workplace up for debate. A supply acquainted with Halligan says she has been excluded from these ongoing conversations.
Another official shut to Justice Department headquarters, nevertheless, disputed that Halligan wasn’t a part of these conversations, and mentioned any confusion was coming from inside the native prosecutors’ workplace. The official mentioned senior DOJ management has had discussions with Halligan earlier than and after McGowan Currie’s ruling.
The official acquainted with the matter mentioned the DOJ ready steerage to be despatched to everybody within the Alexandria workplace that mentioned Halligan wasn’t eliminated because of McGowan Currie’s ruling.
The occasions of Halligan’s 63 days as interim US lawyer empowered by President Donald Trump himself, her former non-public consumer, have eroded the bench of skilled prosecutors within the once-premier Alexandria-based prosecutors’ workplace. Many worry the courtroom itself will look in a different way on the credibility of Justice Department attorneys.
“There’s less trust in the office, generally speaking,” one particular person acquainted with the workplace’s prosecutors advised NCS not too long ago.
Days earlier than a five-year window closed on September 30 for Comey to face prices over congressional testimony in 2020, then-US Attorney Erik Siebert was pushed out of the place. Siebert had hesitated on bringing the instances in opposition to Comey and James, after profession prosecutors within the US lawyer’s workplace pushed again in opposition to the viability of doing so.
Shortly after Siebert’s ouster, Trump posted a surprising public message addressed to “Pam” on his Truth Social account. In it, he advised Bondi they couldn’t “delay any longer” when it got here to bringing prices in opposition to his political enemies — particularly citing Sen. Adam Schiff, Comey and James. Trump additionally urged that Halligan, a White House adviser who was at the moment engaged on reviewing reveals in Smithsonian museums, take over the Virginia workplace and the instances he wished to see prosecuted.
“Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer, and likes you, a lot,” Trump wrote. Later, he posted that he supposed to nominate Halligan, a former insurance coverage lawyer, to the submit.
Halligan had beforehand solely ever been a lawyer on instances in federal courtroom for just a few of Trump’s civil issues, and had no prosecutorial expertise.
But she had the boldness and the drive to ship for the president.
A supply shut to Halligan advised NCS that regardless of being the Trump administration’s choice, Justice Department headquarters declined to present legal professionals to help Halligan as she ready to seem earlier than a grand jury in Alexandria with proof in opposition to Comey, and at the very least one different prosecutor within the Eastern District of Virginia declined to accompany her. FBI brokers and legal professionals working to put together her on the case have been denied a paralegal to help within the presentation to the grand jury, a number of sources advised NCS. Top Justice Department officers advised the White House they’d supplied to assist.
Halligan then started a crash course to put together, spending hours with FBI attorneys and brokers who led the investigation.
But Justice Department officers advised her that the deputy lawyer basic’s workplace — led by Trump’s former private lawyer Todd Blanche — didn’t have legal professionals to assist her, and that it was in opposition to federal guidelines of legal process for an lawyer from DOJ headquarters to be within the grand jury room when she offered Comey’s case.
“Baseless palace intrigue stories like this won’t distract or deter this Department of Justice from our mission to make America safe again,” the Justice Department mentioned in an announcement to NCS.
“The outstanding team of US Attorneys assembled by Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche are fully empowered and supported to uphold the rule of law, prosecute crime, and protect our communities—and especially in light of this week’s horrific attack against the National Guard, this Department will remain focused on its mission to take America back from those who hate our values and endanger our citizens,” the assertion continued.
Trump’s installment of Halligan instantly prompted mistrust and disappointment among the many profession prosecutors working within the Eastern District of Virginia.
The prosecutors based mostly in Alexandria carried out among the Justice Department’s most high-profile and delicate investigations, particularly associated to nationwide safety. And Trump’s want to rout out prosecutors he didn’t belief had largely not affected that district.
“It was viewed as a relatively stable and safe place to be. People were able to put their heads down and work,” one particular person acquainted with the workplace advised NCS.
Within two weeks of Halligan’s touchdown, nevertheless, the district’s high nationwide safety prosecutor, Michael Ben’Ary, and others were fired with little motive given, they usually started hitting again at her and different Trump administration officers’ selections. Comey’s son-in-law, who was a deputy nationwide safety chief within the Alexandria workplace, also resigned on the night of Comey’s indictment.
Ben’Ary taped a note on his former workplace door as he exited, writing to “my EDVA colleagues” that “the decisions to remove experienced career officials from US Attorneys Offices, the FBI, and other critical parts of DOJ undermines our country’s ability to counter terrorist organizations, malign nation-state actors, and countless others that seek to harm our nation and its citizens.”
Ben’Ary’s departure got here in the course of the workplace’s legal prosecution of an alleged terrorist for the 2021 bombing of a civilian gate on the worldwide airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. The case continues to be headed to trial, and the defendant’s legal professionals have requested a choose to formally disqualify Halligan from directing the prosecution.
After Halligan indicted Letitia James on mortgage fraud prices, extra heads started to roll. Elizabeth Yusi, who wrote an inner memo outlining why prosecutors didn’t imagine there was sufficient proof to assist prices in opposition to James, and Kristin Bird, her deputy, have been fired. News of the memo was publicly reported. A supply shut to Halligan mentioned Yusi by no means voiced issues in regards to the case to Halligan. The supply mentioned Halligan was not made conscious of the memo.
Halligan believed attorneys have been leaking details about separate investigations to the media, NCS beforehand reported.
Another prosecutor, Maggie Cleary, a well-connected Republican who had landed within the workplace shortly earlier than as Halligan’s No. 2, was sidelined and moved out to a task within the division’s Washington headquarters.
Paranoia started to develop contained in the as soon as secure workplace. Shortly after Ben’Ary’s departure, prosecutors began to imagine that Halligan was working intently with Ed Martin, the Trump administration’s pardon lawyer who additionally pushed for prosecutions of the president’s political enemies — particularly James — and the exoneration of MAGA allies.
Martin visited the Alexandria US lawyer’s workplace throughout Halligan’s tenure, sources advised NCS, including to the hypothesis. One supply advised NCS he was delivering binders on James’ properties at the moment and was by no means concerned in each day selections.
Nonetheless, Eastern District of Virginia prosecutors grew involved Halligan would possibly set up Martin as her second-in-command, which was a profession place, the sources advised NCS. A supply acquainted with the dynamic mentioned Halligan was by no means contemplating this feature.
Though Halligan had gotten the general public political boosts of securing the Comey and James indictments, contained in the workplace she was largely absent from interacting with the profession prosecutors who staffed lots of the instances. Halligan attended conferences with the workforce pretty frequently, however she didn’t construct shut relationships.
The distance between Halligan and the profession attorneys isn’t simply when it comes to communication, one particular person mentioned. Halligan has been seen strolling with courtroom safety by her aspect even contained in the workplace.
Some have been advised by safety within the Alexandria constructing that Halligan might have positioned cameras across the workplace to extra intently monitor her workforce.
The safety cameras might have been a deliberate venture, however folks acquainted with the workplace described them as among the many adjustments that added “paranoia” to the surroundings.
Halligan disputed the allegations.
“The allegation that I installed, directed the installation of, or had any involvement with installing security-camera equipment in the office is completely false,” Halligan mentioned in an announcement to NCS. “Any review, audit or questioning of those in charge of the security systems will confirm that I had no role – direct or indirect – in their installation or operation.”
Grand jury tumult
The alternative to have Halligan solely current two of Trump’s most sought-after indictments to grand jurors has been closely scrutinized.
Two judges within the Eastern District of Virginia trial-level federal courtroom have learn the grand jury transcripts, and questioned what Halligan mentioned to the grand jurors.
“The court has identified two statements by the prosecutor to the grand jurors that on their face appear to be fundamental misstatements of the law that could compromise the integrity of the grand jury process,” Judge William Fitzpatrick wrote in an opinion on November 17. The choose mentioned that after Halligan advised the grand jurors she was their authorized adviser, she appeared to recommend Comey would wish to testify at his trial and that the Justice Department might have extra and higher proof later.
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Halligan’s precise phrases are redacted in public courtroom information. The Justice Department has disputed Fitzpatrick’s learn of the state of affairs.
The judges have additionally questioned how she skipped presenting the ultimate indictment within the full secret continuing, after grand jurors solely agreed to approve solely two-thirds of the Comey prices.
Issues of how Halligan offered the case got here to a head throughout a listening to earlier this month when she advised a choose the total grand jury had not reviewed the ultimate indictment she signed in opposition to Comey.
At a courtroom listening to on November 19, the lead lawyer for the Justice Department, Tyler Lemons, whom Halligan had introduced in from North Carolina to deal with the Comey case, advised the choose just one indictment was offered to the grand jury. The grand jurors advised the courtroom in a submitting that they hadn’t accredited it, then later that authentic submitting was marked to say the grand jury accredited two of three prices Halligan offered.
After going briefly silent, then needing to affirm what he heard, Judge Michael Nachmanoff turned to Halligan.
“Ms. Halligan, you can come to the podium. You’re counsel of record. You can address the court. It might be easier,” the choose mentioned.
She tried to lower the choose off earlier than he completed talking, to inform him his impression was unsuitable.
She defined in courtroom {that a} foreperson and one other grand juror have been current once they handed up the indictment. She mentioned that the foreperson mentioned in open courtroom that day that they have been declining to indict on the primary cost on the doc, however have been indicting on the second and third prices — making a false assertion to Congress and obstructing a congressional continuing. Halligan’s rationalization confirmed that what the choose referred to as the “operative” indictment in opposition to Comey wasn’t formally offered to the total grand jury.
“I’m familiar with the transcript,” the choose mentioned, then advised her to sit down.
“OK,” Halligan responded.
Halligan’s grand jury work additionally raised questions within the case in opposition to James, the New York lawyer basic. But these points hadn’t been totally fleshed out in courtroom earlier than a choose dismissed her case on November 24.
Other prosecutors beforehand working with a grand jury in Norfolk — one other courthouse within the Eastern District of Virginia — hadn’t moved to indict the case, even after Trump posted on social media pushing Bondi to cost James, Comey and one other political adversary, Democratic Sen. Schiff.
Halligan there, too, offered the James mortgage fraud indictment to a grand jury in Alexandria over one afternoon in early October. Halligan had gone via the case with the FBI — and requested for all doable proof. She decided that whereas two of James’ properties have been underneath investigation, there was just one probe investigation with sufficient proof to take to the grand jury. With schedule adjustments, Halligan prevented the four-hour drive to Norfolk and introduced the fees earlier than a grand jury in Alexandria, as soon as once more, by herself.
Halligan secured an indictment in opposition to James that afternoon. While she had advised division headquarters she would carry the case in opposition to James, she didn’t temporary them that she had determined to carry it that day. Top officers discovered Halligan had secured the indictment from information experiences.
Justice Department officers are nonetheless working via how they could carry the instances in opposition to Comey and James again to life.
The cumulative impact on Halligan’s status, regardless of Bondi calling her an “excellent US attorney” final week, has been extreme.
In simply two months, Halligan went from being the first prosecutor going after the president’s political enemies, to a headache for the Justice Department who put in her — with prosecutors unclear how to proceed with the 2 instances and others offered underneath her authority.
Her title stays on courtroom filings. As of Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors within the workplace have been instructed to add Blanche, the deputy lawyer basic, and the workplace’s new first assistant, Robert McBride, on the courtroom paperwork.
In the third electronic mail in 48 hours on what the workplace’s signature block utilized in courtroom ought to say, Justice Department officers instructed the US lawyer’s workplace to maintain Halligan listed, now as each “Unites States Attorny” — which was misspelled within the inner electronic mail — and as a “special” United States Attorney, in accordance to a replica reviewed by NCS.
Halligan continues to be ready for directives from Justice Department headquarters. To some, it was unclear as of Friday whether or not she would present up on the workplace in Alexandria on Monday.
The Justice Department nonetheless hasn’t taken the following steps within the instances in opposition to Comey and James, which the choose mentioned might have the flexibility to be charged once more. No attraction has been filed in both to contest the choose’s ruling that Halligan was not a legitimate prosecutor in September and October, regardless of Justice Department management and the White House asserting that because the plan.