Federal judges formally strip Lindsey Halligan of U.S. attorney title

[LetMyPeopleVote]

This makes me smile

🚨BREAKING: Federal judges in eastern Virginia have moved to strip Lindsey Halligan, the embattled loyalist lawyer President Donald Trump handpicked to prosecute his enemies last year, of her alleged U.S. attorney title more than a month after a court formally disqualified her from the role.

— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) 2026-01-20T17:37:42.990Z

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federal-judges-strip-lindsey-halligan-us-attorney-title/

Federal judges in eastern Virginia have moved to strip Lindsey Halligan, the embattled loyalist lawyer President Donald Trump handpicked to prosecute his enemies last year, of her self-proclaimed U.S. attorney title more than a month after a court formally disqualified her from the role.

On Tuesday, M. Hannah Lauck, the chief judge of the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a court notice that since Halligan’s 120-day appointment — which was found to have been unlawful — formally ends Tuesday, the U.S. attorney title in the district would be vacant. Lauck also asked for qualified attorneys to apply to fill the role.

The move represents the latest development in the monthslong struggle between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and federal judges over who should lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The notice and job posting come just days after Trump, in a desperate attempt to keep Halligan at the helm of the key U.S. attorney’s office, nominated her to the position for a second time.

In the court notice, Lauck said that because the Senate had not confirmed Halligan, federal judges in the district now had the authority to appoint someone to replace her.

[Baitball Blogger]

1. She is not worthy.

[Lovie777]

2. Good..............

[Vthestate]

3. This is a ok ...follow the law

Late but still important.....appointing in this case of vacancy , is the job of the judges of the district. It ain't hard, just populate the law.
I wonder what oversight the judges have over the prosecution over 500 prosecutors are try'n to cleanse the Epstein files...while sex offender are walking free ...no one to prosecute them

[Volaris]

4. Im smiling, too..but im thinking about this afternoons tantrums

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. Judge hits disqualified MAGA prosecutor with scathing order for pretending she's in office

Halligan's and the DOJ's filing was really stupid and really pissed off this judge

Judge hits disqualified MAGA prosecutor with scathing order for pretending she's in office

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-01-20T20:31:16Z

https://www.rawstory.com/lindsey-halligan-2674913757

A federal judge ordered Lindsey Halligan, the disqualified acting U.S. attorney President Donald Trump's Justice Department installed in the Eastern District of Virginia, to stop calling herself a U.S. attorney in a scathing ruling on Tuesday — and went out of his way to rebuke her for a "vitriol"-laden filing with the court that would be "more appropriate for a cable news talk show."....

Despite this ruling, Halligan continued referring to herself as a "U.S. attorney" and conducted work in the office as if she were still serving in that role, prompting further legal motions to stop her from doing so. In response, Halligan, in a joint filing with Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, fired off a filing that slammed the courts for a "fundamental misunderstanding" and a "gross abuse of power."

On Monday, however, U.S. District Judge David Novak, himself a Trump appointee, brought down the hammer, finding Halligan may not use the title of "U.S. attorney" and that she "ignore[d] a binding court order" that compelled her to stop.

"Ms. Halligan’s response ... contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show and falls far beneath the level of advocacy expected from litigants in this Court, particularly the Department of Justice," wrote Novak, adding that "The Court will not engage in a similar tit-for-tat." He warned that "Ms. Halligan and anyone who joins her on a pleading" that continues to call her a U.S. attorney "subjects themselves to potential disciplinary action in this Court pursuant to the Court’s Local Rules."

It is never a good idea to piss off a federal judge

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Embattled Trump DOJ prosecutor out after stinging court rebukes

This makes me smile

Embattled Trump DOJ prosecutor out after stinging court rebukes

— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) 2026-01-21T02:01:35.000Z

https://www.rawstory.com/lindsey-halligan-2674914897/

Embattled interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan is departing the Department of Justice, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Tuesday.

Halligan's departure comes at a time when President Donald Trump has put increased pressure on the agency to prosecute his political enemies. According to reports, Trump has privately raged that Bondi is "weak and ineffective." He also cornered some of his U.S. Attorneys during a recent photoshoot and told them to prosecute his enemies more quickly.

Halligan is a former insurance lawyer who represented Trump during his civil fraud case in New York in 2024. She was brought on as an interim U.S. Attorney last year to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both cases have since fallen apart as courts ruled Halligan is illegally serving in her role.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. The judge found that Halligan was too stupid to disbar

This is also my favorite part of this opinion

My favorite part of Judge Novak's ruling on Lindsey Halligan is that basically she's too dumb to disbar.

— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) 2026-01-21T17:34:37.362Z