Overview
- Lindsey Halligan removed Elizabeth Yusi and Kristin Bird from the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday, the latest exits after Michael Ben’Ary, Maya Song and other veterans were pushed out or left.
- Sources say Yusi and Bird had resisted charges against Letitia James, while Halligan has accused senior staff of unauthorized leaks.
- Halligan, a Trump-appointed interim with no prosecutorial background, personally secured grand jury indictments of James Comey and Letitia James despite career opposition.
- Comey plans to contest Halligan’s authority, and legal challenges to Trump’s interim appointments have advanced after a judge ruled Alina Habba’s appointment unlawful with an appellate hearing scheduled Monday.
- Prosecutors describe heavy White House pressure to pursue Trump’s opponents and to push sensitive cases before state elections, prompting warnings about departures from longstanding DOJ restraints.