Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan is facing criticism online after an NBC News legal reporter pointed out what he called an obvious spelling mistake in her official signature block. This quickly became another point of mockery in the ongoing dispute over her appointment.
On Thursday, NBC News reporter Ryan J. Reilly posted on Bluesky that Halligan’s signature block misspelled “Virginia” as “Virgina” on legal documents related to her role as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Reilly shared the text of the signature block as it appeared in filings, showing the line: “Lindsey Halligan, United States Attorney Eastern District of Virgina [sic]” followed by bar information and an office address.
Users joined in with jokes and pointed comments with one commenter saying, “Well, she can’t legally be the US Atty for the Eastern District of Virginia, but they never said anything about the Eastern District of Virgina, did they?” Another added, “She’s as competent at spelling as she is at litigation.”
Freedom of Information Act attorney Kevin H. Bell also commented, offering a more procedural explanation for how such mistakes can end up repeated in filings. “A deep dark secret of both the legal profession and the US government is that virtually everything is copy pasted,” Bell wrote.
This incident comes as Halligan’s status and the work she has approved remain central in multiple federal cases. Earlier rulings found her interim appointment unlawful, leading to dismissals of high-profile indictments involving Trump’s enemies. Halligan’s flawed appointment meant some actions taken under her authority had to be set aside.
The most high-profile fallout involved prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both cases were dismissed after a court found that Halligan did not have lawful authority when she secured and signed crucial steps in those cases. Without her involvement, the DOJ still failed to secure indictments at the Grand Jury for Comey and James.
Halligan’s path to the job received attention when she was appointed, as reports described her as a former member of Trump’s legal circle and mentioned her time as a beauty pageant contestant, a fact that continues to be highlighted in coverage of her rise in the Justice Department.
President Donald Trump initially sought to appoint Halligan after the departure of U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert in Virginia, due to frustration within Trump’s Justice Department over the lack of charges against political targets. Reuters previously reported that Siebert resigned after the administration expressed dissatisfaction about the absence of charges in the Letitia James case.
In the wake of the unlawful appointment rulings and related dismissals, Halligan has been a recurring figure in discussions about Justice Department legal setbacks and internal issues. The spelling error pointed out by Reilly has added a new, noticeable detail to this narrative since the signature block is typically used across filings and correspondence.
Halligan’s appointment was mocked on cable news channels due to her lack of experience as a prosecutor, and she lived up to the expectations of legal experts who believed she was not qualified for the job.
