WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lindsey Halligan, one of President Donald Trump's former defense lawyers who then joined him in the White House, took over a key federal prosecutor's office in Virginia on Monday, CBS News reports.
Halligan will serve as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Her term as interim U.S. attorney will expire after 120 days, unless her appointment is extended by either the district's federal judges or a formal Senate confirmation.
Halligan's predecessor, Erik Siebert, resigned amid concerns he would be forced out for failing to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud in connection with a Norfolk home, CBS News reports. The president refuted the claim that Siebert resigned, instead saying he fired the prosecutor because "Nothing is being done."
Watch previous coverage: Virginia prosecutor investigating NY AG Letitia James pushed to resign
Siebert was appointed by Trump as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in January, following the resignation of the late Jessica Aber, who announced her decision to step down as the region's top prosecutor weeks before Trump took office.
Siebert's term was set to expire on May 20, but he had been approved to continue in his role following a unanimous decision on behalf of the district's judges.
"Then we almost put in a Democrat supported U.S. Attorney, in Virginia, with a really bad Republican past. A Woke RINO, who was never going to do his job. That's why two of the worst Dem Senators PUSHED him so hard. He even lied to the media and said he quit, and that we had no case. No, I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so," Trump wrote on social media. "Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer, and likes you, alot. We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility."
Before joining the White House and working for Trump, Halligan handled insurance claims at a law firm in Florida, CBS News reports. She graduated from the University of Miami Law School in 2013 and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2014. Halligan has never worked in a prosecutor's office. A legal marketing website with Halligan's resume, USattorneys.com, says that she interned at the Miami Public Defender's Office and the Innocence Project.
