Anna Bower: "Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here."

[Nevilledog]

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna--lindsey-halligan-here

It was 1:20 p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 11. I was lounging in my pajamas, idly scrolling through Netflix, having spent the morning reading news stories, occasionally tweeting, and watching TV. It was a rare day off.

Then my phone lit up with a notification. I glanced down at the message.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.

Lindsey Halligan—the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia—was texting me. As it turned out, she was texting me about a criminal case she is pursuing against one of the president’s perceived political enemies: New York Attorney General Letitia James.

So began my two-day text correspondence with the woman President Donald Trump had installed, in no small part, to bring the very prosecution she was now discussing with me by text message.

Over the next 33 hours, Halligan texted me again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Through the whole of our correspondence, however, there is something Halligan never said: She never said a word suggesting that she was not “on the record.”

It is not uncommon for federal prosecutors to communicate with the press, both through formal channels and sometimes informally. My exchange with Halligan, however, was highly unusual in a number of respects. She initiated a conversation with me, a reporter she barely knew, to discuss an ongoing prosecution that she is personally handling. She mostly criticized my reporting—or, more precisely, my summary of someone else’s reporting. But several of her messages contained language that touch on grand jury matters, even as she insisted that she could not reveal such information, which is protected from disclosure by prosecutors under federal law.

*snip*

[no_hypocrisy]

1. "Anna, how does a grand jury work anyway?"

[highplainsdem]

2. K&R! Was just about to post this.

OMG @annabower.bsky.social

— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) 2025-10-20T22:21:36.900Z

[bucolic_frolic]

3. If in over your head, choose your helpers wisely, or at least discreetly. /nt

[LearnedHand]

4. Wow

Halligan’s ignorance of law and process is gobsmackingly astonishing.

[Raven123]

5. What a story. I read the whole thing

Halligan is so insecure and so deep in Trump’s orbit that she engages with reporters rather than do the job she is supposed to be doing. There is not enough popcorn to watch this show

[Baitball Blogger]

6. It's clear they are way in over their heads and they are only there because they are loyal to Trump.

If they're lucky, being disbarred is the only thing they will have to fear.

[Maru Kitteh]

11. "so deep in Trump's orbit that she engages with reporters rather than do the job "

THAT’S IT!

That is the “it in a nutshell” phrase I was looking for that describes this phenomenon. Trump hires people to talk to and animate the reporters that talk to him on his TV. They understand, this is their job. Jezus.

It seems Lindsey is genuinely of average intelligence, or she doesn’t mind too much about whether she can continue to actually practice law going forward.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. The incompetence is astounding. Halligan put her prosecution at even further risk

just for the sake of getting to say to a legal commentator, privately, whom she barely knew, "you're wrong, but I can't tell you exactly why". Halligan shows she doesn't understand an "off the record" agreement, despite having dealt with the media for years. It's like a high schooler, who desperately wants to be liked by everyone, is in charge of prosecuting important government employees.

[Jarqui]

8. Anna Bower is very capable

From that I just read, Halligan is clearly not - ignoring some of the other coverage of her.
I haven't seen Halligan but her responses reminded me of Alina Habba.

This is a criminal case. The evidence has to be beyond a reasonable doubt.

So far:
We have $1,000-$5,000 rent over a four year period.
A family related to James living in the house rent free for years that James regularly visits and stays at

I saw another report (by Meidas Touch Network?) that said in the worst case, if everything Halligan claimed was accurate (which it appears it is not and ignoring the appearance of selective or vindictive prosecution), the biggest number they could come up with is $600/year as the difference in mortgage rate or $2,400 total for the four years. And they have to prove it was an intentional fraud scheme for financial advantage ... when the James family member and her family was living there rent free in a home that would normally rent for roughly $1,370 to 1,712 per month...) How do you get criminal intent with those facts? And Letitia James was allowed to collect some rent even in the first year.

It seems obvious why an experienced prosecutor would not be enthusiastic to prosecute this case.

[Nevilledog]

9. ...

[Jarqui]

10. As she is beyond her teens, she's too old for the mango felon ... nt ...

[Nevilledog]

12. She was in the same beauty pageant as Ericka Kirk, run by Donald Trump.