(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that Lindsey Halligan, President Donald Trump’s appointee as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, must stop using that title before the court or face disciplinary action.
“Ms. Halligan’s continued identification of herself as the United States Attorney for this District ignores a binding court order and may not continue,” the order from U.S. District Judge David Novak stated.
Judge Novak earlier this month ordered Halligan to explain to the court why she was using the title of U.S. attorney after a judge in that district found that her appointment was improper and violated the Constitution.
The Justice Department’s fiery reply to that order, which included Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as signatories, drew Judge Novak’s ire.
“Ms. Halligan’s response, in which she was joined by both the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, 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,” Novak wrote Tuesday.
Halligan, who was a White House aide before being appointed interim U.S. attorney by President Trump, secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, only to have them thrown out when U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie determined in November that she had been unlawfully appointed without being either Senate confirmed or appointed by the federal judiciary.
“The Court finds it inconceivable that the Department of Justice, which holds a duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States even those with which it may have disagreement would repeatedly ignore court orders, while simultaneously prosecuting citizens for breaking the law,” Judge Novak wrote in Tuesday’s order. “If the Court were to allow Ms. Halligan and the Department of Justice to pick and choose which orders that they will follow, the same would have to be true for other litigants and our system of justice would crumble.”
The judge warned that if Halligan continues to use the U.S. attorney title, she will be subject to disciplinary proceedings.
“Ms. Halligan and anyone who joins her on a pleading containing the improper moniker subjects themselves to potential disciplinary action in this Court pursuant to the Court’s Local Rules,” Tuesday’s order said.
The Eastern District of Virginia also issued a job posting to fill the vacancy left by Halligan’s improper appointment.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.
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