FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide for President Donald Trump who as a top federal prosecutor in Virginia pursued cases against the president's opponents but ultimately left the job after her appointment was deemed unlawful, is facing an investigation by the Florida Bar.
The Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit watchdog that had sought the bar inquiry, published a letter on its website in which a representative of the Florida Bar confirmed that the organization had an investigation pending. A spokesperson for the Florida Bar confirmed to The Associated Press that there was an open file on Halligan but declined to comment further because disciplinary cases are confidential.
Halligan did not immediately respond to a request for a comment about the investigation.
The complaint centers on Halligan’s brief but turbulent time as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, historically one of the Justice Department’s most elite and prestigious prosecution offices.
Halligan, who had served as one of Trump’s attorneys but had no prior experience as a federal prosecutor, was installed in September after the Trump administration effectively forced out her predecessor, Erik Siebert, amid pressure to bring charges against a pair of Trump’s political opponents: former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Halligan secured both indictments but ran into difficulty right away as lawyers for Comey raised questions about a series of what they said were irregularities in the grand jury presentation of the case, including legal and factual errors that tainted the process. A judge in November scolded Halligan for “fundamental misstatements of the law,” including what he said was her suggestion to the grand jury that Comey did not have a Fifth Amendment right to not testify in the case.
{{/usCountry}}Halligan secured both indictments but ran into difficulty right away as lawyers for Comey raised questions about a series of what they said were irregularities in the grand jury presentation of the case, including legal and factual errors that tainted the process. A judge in November scolded Halligan for “fundamental misstatements of the law,” including what he said was her suggestion to the grand jury that Comey did not have a Fifth Amendment right to not testify in the case.
{{/usCountry}}A different judge subsequently dismissed both the Comey and James prosecutions after concluding that Halligan’s appointment by the Justice Department had been unlawful. Halligan left the position in January.
The bar complaint rehashes that chronology and also suggests that Halligan may have violated rules of professional conduct by continuing to hold herself out in court filings as acting U.S. attorney for the district after a judge had ruled that she was serving in the position illegally.
“In this way, Ms. Halligan appears to have issued false or misleading communications regarding herself and her services,” the complaint said.
Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writer David Fischer contributed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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