Washington — Lindsey Halligan, one of President Trump’s former defense lawyers who then joined him in the White House, took over a key federal prosecutor’s office in Virginia on Monday following the departure of the U.S. attorney amid apparent pressure from the president.
Halligan takes the helm of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia as interim U.S. attorney after serving as a senior aide to Mr. Trump. Her temporary appointment comes days after Erik Siebert, who had been serving as the top prosecutor in the office, resigned amid concerns he would be forced out for failing to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud. The president said he fired Siebert.
Federal law allows Halligan to serve as interim U.S. attorney for only 120 days, unless federal judges on the U.S. district court in the region extend her appointment or she is confirmed by the Senate. The district court in the Eastern District of Virginia is known as the “rocket docket” because of how quickly cases move from filing to trial. It handles significant national security cases in part due to its proximity to Washington, D.C.
In her role in the second Trump administration, Halligan was part of an effort by the White House to remove “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.
Read more
