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Trump-appointed prosecutor who pursued Comey indictment departs post after 120 days

Published January 21, 2026 at 8:15AM

FILE - Lindsey Halligan, special assistant to the president, speaks with a reporter outside of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Lindsey Halligan, who, as a hastily appointed Justice Department prosecutor, pursued indictments against a pair of President Donald Trump’s adversaries, is leaving her position as her months-long tenure has now concluded, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday night.

Halligan’s departure from the role of interim United States attorney for the Alexandria-based Eastern District of Virginia came as multiple judges were casting doubt on her ability to remain in the job legally following a court ruling two months ago that declared her appointment illegal.

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JUST IN: Judge dismisses Comey indictment after finding that prosecutor was illegally appointed

By The Associated Press

Published November 24, 2025 at 1:00PM

FILE - Former FBI director James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, June 8, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump’s urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

The rulings from U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie halt at least for now a pair of prosecutions that had targeted two of the president’s most high-profile political opponents and amount to a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration’s legal maneuvering to install an inexperienced and loyalist prosecutor willing to file the cases.

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Comey lawyers seek indictment dismissal over ‘vindictive and selective’ prosecution

By The Associated Press

Published November 19, 2025 at 9:30AM

Family of former FBI Director James Comey and others, arrive at federal court in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Former FBI Director James Comey will make another run Wednesday at getting his criminal case dismissed, with his lawyers looking to convince a judge that the prosecution is vindictive and rooted in President Donald Trump’s hatred of him.

The arguments arrive as the Comey case appears freshly imperiled following a judge’s excoriation of the Justice Department on Monday and as multiple challenges to the indictment may result in its dismissal.

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Comey pleads not guilty at Alexandria federal courthouse as lawyers signal intent to argue Trump foe’s case is politically motivated

By The Associated Press

Published October 8, 2025 at 10:09AM | Updated October 8, 2025 at 1:30PM

This courtroom sketch depicts former FBI Director James Comey, second from left, and his attorneys Jessica Carmichael, seated left, and Patrick J. Fitzgerald, standing right, during his arraignment at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Lemons, is seated right. (Dana Verkouteren via AP)

By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — James Comey pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a criminal case that has highlighted the Justice Department’s efforts to target adversaries of President Donald Trump, with lawyers for the former FBI director saying they plan to argue the prosecution is politically motivated and should be dismissed.