The Department of Justice on Monday slammed federal judges in Alexandria, Va., saying they launched an “unconscionable campaign of bias and hostility” against Lindsey Halligan, who was recently stripped of her U.S. attorney title.
“Certain district court and magistrate judges in the Eastern District of Virginia are engaging in an unconscionable campaign of bias and hostility against U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan and her line AUSAs,” Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement, posted to X.
“Lindsey and our attorneys are simply doing their jobs: advocating for the Department of Justice’s positions while following guidance from the Office of Legal Counsel. They do not deserve to have their reputations questioned in court for ethically advocating on behalf of their client. This Department of Justice has no tolerance for undemocratic judicial activism.
“We will continue fighting for public safety in courtrooms across the country, and we will not be deterred by rogue judges who fail to live up to their obligations of impartiality because of their own political views. The American people, and the people of the Eastern District of Virginia, deserve nothing less,” they added.
Two magistrate judges and a district court judge in Alexandria last week told prosecutors in court they didn’t believe Halligan’s name should be on court documents following a ruling in the district that she was unlawfully appointed as the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia.
The bombshell decision from Judge Cameron McGowan Currie determined Halligan was not the U.S. attorney because she had not been confirmed by the Senate after 120 days of a vacancy in the post, nor had she been sworn in by the judges of the court.
McGowan’s decision simultaneously dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Halligan was installed in the job at Trump’s urging by Bondi in September, just days before Comey was indicted, in what defense lawyers say was an end-run around the constitutional and statutory rules governing the appointment of U.S. attorneys.
They say the maneuver was designed to ensure indictments against the president’s political opponents after the prosecutor who had been overseeing the two investigations, but had not brought charges, was effectively forced out.
U.S. attorneys, top federal prosecutors who oversee regional Justice Department outposts across the country, are typically nominated by the president and then confirmed by the Senate.
Attorneys general do have the authority to name an interim U.S. attorney who can serve for 120 days, but lawyers for Comey and James argued that once that period expires, the law gives federal judges the exclusive say in who gets to fill the vacancy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.