DOJ Legal Adviser Says Halligan Can Still Be Called US Attorney

The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has advised that Lindsey Halligan can continue to be referred to as the Eastern District of Virginia’s US attorney in court filings, according to an email shared with the office Wednesday.

Halligan should be listed in the signature block used on all pleadings as “United States Attorny and Special United States Attorney,” according to the email, which misspells “Attorney.”

The email came two days after a federal judge ruled Halligan had been illegally appointed while dismissing criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department would appeal the decision by Judge Cameron McGowan Currie.

Eastern Virginia prosecutors were initially told Nov. 24 to replace Halligan’s name on filings with that of her new first assistant, Robert McBride. But about an hour later, as the administration decided to appeal, an email went out to staff advising them to revert back to Halligan on the signature block.

The blessing of the Office of Legal Counsel, which weighs in on thorny matters for the president and throughout the executive branch, shows the significance of this title for the Trump DOJ. Halligan’s appearance as the office’s top prosecutor in future case filings could lead defense lawyers to file more motions to dismiss as her appointment’s legal status remains in limbo.

Halligan, an insurance lawyer with no prior prosecutorial experience, is the fourth of President Donald Trump’s US attorneys with “interim” or “acting” designations whom federal judges have deemed unlawfully appointed. DOJ’s appeal would send the case to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, as the Trump administration wages similar battles at the Third and Ninth Circuits.

President Donald Trump installed Halligan in September after her predecessor resigned under pressure to bring charges against Comey and James. She was the sole prosecutor who secured separate grand jury indictments against both of them.

The office was directed to include Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and McBride on the signature block in addition to Halligan.