Overview
- U.S. District Judge David J. Novak ordered Lindsey Halligan to explain within seven days why she is identifying herself as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
- The three-page order, issued on the judge’s own initiative, asks why her identification should not be struck from a recent indictment and why it is not a false or misleading statement.
- Novak emphasized that Judge Cameron McGowan Currie’s November ruling finding Halligan’s appointment unlawful remains binding in the district because no stay has been issued.
- Currie’s decisions led to dismissals of indictments that Halligan brought against James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
- The Justice Department has appealed and the White House has begun pursuing Senate confirmation for Halligan as reports of disrupted prosecutions in the district continue.