Attorney General Pam Bondi retroactively gave Eastern Virginia’s top prosecutor an extra title in an effort to withstand claims she was illegally serving when bringing charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
Bondi appointed Lindsey Halligan, temporarily serving as US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to the additional position of “special attorney,” a title Bondi said would have retroactive effect to when Halligan took office more than a month ago. Government lawyers attached Bondi’s Oct. 31 order to a court filing Monday.
This gives Halligan authority to conduct “any kind of legal proceeding, civil or criminal, including grand jury proceedings and proceedings before United States Magistrates and Judges,” Bondi wrote.
And if the court finds that special attorneys have more limited roles, Bondi said she delegates to Halligan the handling of criminal prosecutions of James and Comey.
The maneuver represents the latest effort by the Trump administration to stretch the bounds of federal vacancy laws to install its preferred candidates at the helm of the nation’s US attorney’s offices.
Several have drawn similar legal challenges. A California federal judge ruled last week that the top prosecutor in Los Angeles was illegally serving as the office’s acting leader but allowed him to continue leading the office as a supervising prosecutor. Federal judges have also ruled against the administration’s maneuvers in New Jersey and Nevada.
President Donald Trump’s Justice Department has also faced accusations that it’s been driven by politics when bringing charges against the president’s perceived opponents.
Halligan, who has no previous prosecutorial experience, was sworn in as interim US attorney in September, after her predecessor, Erik Siebert, stepped down under political pressure. Trump administration officials told Siebert he’d be removed if he didn’t bring mortgage fraud charges against James, even though prosecutors found there was insufficient evidence, Bloomberg News reported.
Since Halligan’s installation, her office has brought mortgage fraud charges against James, who led the civil fraud case against Trump in New York, and charges against Comey, who oversaw a probe into the 2016 Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia, for lying to Congress Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Trump also posted on social media, shortly before Halligan was sworn in, asking Bondi to take action against James, Comey, and Sen.
Dismissal Request
The government’s latest filing follows requests by Comey and James for a judge to dismiss the charges against them by arguing that Halligan was illegally serving as interim US attorney when they were brought. James also asked the court to block Halligan from participating in the case.
They argued that Bondi couldn’t appoint Halligan as interim US attorney because Siebert had already served in that role for 120 days, the maximum under the law governing interim US attorney appointments.
And if Halligan acted alone in securing the indictment, the court should dismiss these cases if it finds Halligan wasn’t properly representing the US at the time, they argued.
In its response brief, filed Monday in both criminal cases against James and Comey, government lawyers argued Bondi has now ratified Halligan’s appointment and cited the attorney general’s “expansive power to appoint attorneys and delegate the Department of Justice’s powers.”
They also argued the administration is allowed to appoint successive interim leaders, each for 120-day terms.
“There is no question that the Attorney General intended to vest Ms. Halligan with the powers of U.S. Attorney and thus with the powers of a government attorney authorized to conduct criminal litigation—a fact that the Attorney General has confirmed by ratifying Ms. Halligan’s appointment under her other authorities,” government lawyers wrote.
A federal judge is set to hear arguments Nov. 13 on the defendants’ motions to dismiss the cases.
The cases are USA v. James, E.D. Va., No. 2:25-cr-00122, 11/3/25 and USA v. Comey, E.D. Va., No. 1:25-cr-00272, 11/3/25.
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