Even after almost six weeks of a judge throwing out her indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York state Attorney General Letitia James, Lindsey Halligan continues to face trouble.
In November 2025, Judge Cameron Currie ruled Halligan’s appointment unlawful, as she did not have any prior prosecutorial experience and served previously as Trump’s personal attorney and insurance lawyer to the U.S. Attorney.
Now, Trump-appointed Federal Judge David Novak issued an order against Halligan on Tuesday, asking why she was still calling herself U.S. Attorney after her appointment was deemed illegal.
Halligan was asked to “explain why her identification does not constitute a false or misleading statement.”
According to The Daily Beast, “Novak wrote that although the government had appealed the ruling that nullified Halligan’s appointment, the appeals court had not issued a stay in the case, meaning the original decision remained ‘binding precedent in this district’ while the appeals process played out.”
Trump-appointed judge: “For these reasons, the Court hereby DIRECTS Ms. Halligan to file, within seven (7) days of the issuance of this Order, a pleading explaining the basis for Ms. Halligan’s identification of herself as the United States Attorney, notwithstanding Judge… https://t.co/BE0FTEGlWc
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) January 7, 2026
Novak also noted that he had acted out of his own will and not because of any request from the defense counsel, adding, “It remains the binding precedent in this district and is not subject to being ignored.” The Richmond-area judge has given Halligan seven days to respond to these charges.
It is important to note here that Halligan, who replaced veteran prosecutor Erik Siebert, had been appointed by Trump as a part of the President’s effort to appoint his loyalists in positions of power.
Talking about the same, Philip Lacovara, counsel to the Watergate special prosecutor said, “The overt and explicit ‘weaponization’ of the justice department, in defiance of the professional judgment of career prosecutors that the criminal prosecutions are unwarranted, is the worst type of corruption of the rule of law” as The Guardian reported.
Peter Shane, constitutional law professor at New York University also commented on the subject, adding, “Trump’s conspicuous public involvement in triggering prosecutions against his enemies along with the seemingly paltry ‘evidence’ against Comey and James, in particular, is likely to mean that at least some of these cases will be dismissed before trial.”
Judge to Lindsey Halligan: Explain yourself. pic.twitter.com/QxDuuPda0b
— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) January 7, 2026
Halligan has been a subject of media ridicule as well because of her involvement with the beauty industry in the past and a lack of experience in the present field she is serving.
Often dubbed as “beauty queen,” Halligan continues to face severe backlash and her future also remains uncertain given she only has seven days to respond to Novak’s order.
The Department of Justice, however, continues to support her, which further shows how Trump’s attempts of weaponizing the justice system by placing his loyalists in positions of power would have far reaching consequences.
John McKay, former U.S. attorney, explained the same, saying, “Trump wants to skip constitutional safeguards in order to carry out retribution.”
Rumors suggested that Halligan’s appointment had essentially been done to serve Trump’s personal vendetta against people who would not listen to him.
Now, with another Trump appointee serving Halligan the court order, it would be interesting to see how the President reacts. Moreover, the charges against Halligan are quite serious and the future of her career now depends on the kind of response she and her team can come up with within the given time.
