Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and longtime personal attorney to President Donald Trump, has officially taken over as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing Erik Siebert after he was forced out amid internal resistance to indict one of Trump’s chief political adversaries: New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Halligan’s surprise elevation to lead the pivotal prosecutorial office comes as top Trump allies sharpen their attacks on James, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accusing her Monday of turning the justice system into a political weapon.
“Letitia James completely abused her oath of office,” Leavitt said Monday afternoon. “What was Letitia James’s campaign slogan? It was ‘prosecute Donald Trump.’ She was saying she was going to prosecute Donald Trump before she even knew if Donald Trump committed a crime — which, of course, we did not.”
Halligan formally took over the position as the lead prosecutor for the Commonwealth’s Eastern District shortly after Leavitt’s remarks to reporters, CNN reported, including a photo of Halligan reportedly arriving for her first day.
The Virginia prosecutor’s office had been under pressure from top administration officials for months to bring charges against James, who led the civil fraud case against Trump last year, resulting in a $454 million judgment against him. The financial component of that judgment has since been overturned, and the Democratic-led Empire State is appealing that ruling.
Halligan sworn in after push to remove Siebert
Halligan formally assumed the role days after Mary “Maggie” Cleary, a conservative DOJ official who had previously said she was falsely accused of participating in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, led the office over the weekend to ensure continuity.
Halligan, who has no prosecutorial experience, served as one of Trump’s attorneys during the early phases of the Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe, a case that Trump has called politically motivated.
Trump celebrated Halligan’s appointment in a Truth Social post Saturday, saying she “represented me (and WON!) in the disgraceful Democrat Documents Hoax,” and praised her as “extremely intelligent, fearless” and ready to be “absolutely OUTSTANDING in this new and very important role.”
Mortgage allegations remain unresolved
The federal investigation into James stems from her 2023 purchase of a home in Virginia. In April, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte sent a criminal referral to Attorney General Pam Bondi, alleging James falsified mortgage records by misrepresenting the property as her primary residence to secure more favorable loan terms.
“Ms. James was the sitting Attorney General of New York and is required by law to have her primary residence in the state of New York — even though her mortgage applications list her intent to have the Norfolk, VA, property as her primary home,” Pulte wrote.
The referral alleged that James had a pattern of misrepresentation, pointing to a separate 2021 real estate transaction in Brooklyn in which she allegedly claimed a five-unit property with only four units in building permits and mortgage filings. Pulte suggested several possible violations, including false statements to a financial institution, bank fraud, and wire fraud.
However, sources familiar with the case told ABC News last week that the five-month investigation has so far failed to yield enough evidence to support an indictment. Prosecutors reportedly determined that a power of attorney form, signed by James’s niece at closing, had been generated by a third-party template and was not reviewed by the mortgage lender’s underwriters.
Sources told the outlet that in response to Siebert’s decision not to seek charges for James, Pulte reportedly encouraged Trump to fire him and replace him with a prosecutor who would be willing to bring charges against her.
What’s next for the investigation?
While no charges have yet been filed, the investigation remains open. Under Virginia law, most grand jury formations result in a discharge if no report or indictment is filed within six months of their impanelling.
The prior round of grand jury activity began in May under Siebert’s oversight, and any next phase would likely involve new grand jury proceedings, though officials have not formally confirmed such plans.
Former federal prosecutor Mike Benza, now a professor at Case Western Reserve University, said federal grand juries typically operate on six-month terms, but there’s no cap on how many can be formed.
“There’s no limit to how many grand juries can be formed over the same investigation,” Benza said. “If the government doesn’t think it has enough to proceed, they can pause and resume when they’re ready.”
Comey inquiry also under Halligan’s purview
Siebert was also overseeing a separate investigation into former FBI Director James Comey, including whether he lied to Congress during testimony about surveillance activities under the Obama administration. In that case, like the James inquiry, it has drawn close attention from Trump and his advisers.
Halligan’s arrival places another one of Trump’s personal legal allies at the helm of a major U.S. Attorney’s Office tasked with executing some of the administration’s most politically sensitive investigations.
Several ranking members of the Justice Department, including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Solicitor General D. John Sauer, represented Trump during his criminal indictments leading up to the 2024 election. Another personal attorney to Trump, Alina Habba, serves as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. However, a federal judge recently ruled she was “unlawfully” holding the office beyond her interim term, casting doubt on her authority.
A power struggle inside the GOP legal world
The shake-up at the Eastern District has sent ripples through Virginia’s legal and political establishment.
Siebert is the son-in-law of Richard Cullen, a towering GOP legal figure who once served as Virginia attorney general, U.S. attorney, and personal attorney to former Vice President Mike Pence, who famously had a falling out with the president following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Cullen now serves as legal counsel to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).
Trump’s removal of Siebert, a member of one of Virginia’s most prominent Republican legal families, is widely seen as a direct response to Siebert’s reluctance to pursue politically explosive charges against James without more substantial evidence.
It is unclear whether a new grand jury will be convened under Halligan’s supervision, though sources within the administration have stressed that the investigation into James is multifaceted and active.
A separate grand jury in Albany, New York, continues to investigate whether James violated Trump’s constitutional rights during the New York fraud case, which came as Trump was fending off two federal indictments under then-Attorney General Merrick Garland’s oversight and two state-level criminal cases.
James’s legal team has dismissed both investigations as political retaliation.
Abbe Lowell, who previously represented former President Joe Biden’s son in his criminal cases, is representing James in addition to leading the defense of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook amid Trump’s attempt to fire her. He accused Trump in a statement last week of “firing people until he finds someone who will bend the law to carry out his revenge.”
“Punishing this prosecutor, a Trump appointee, for doing his job sends a clear and chilling message that anyone who dares uphold the law over politics will face the same fate,” Lowell said.
Leavitt pushed back against criticism of the Justice Department under Trump, saying the administration “is not going to tolerate gaslighting” amid allegations that the current presidency is “weaponizing” the DOJ.
TRUMP NOMINATES LINDSEY HALLIGAN FOR TOP VIRGINIA PROSECTOR
“The President is fulfilling his promise to restore a Department of Justice that demands accountability, and it is not weaponizing the Department of Justice to demand accountability for those who weaponize the Department of Justice,” Leavitt said, saying “it was Biden” who used the DOJ to go after Trump.
A spokesperson for the Eastern District of Virginia did not respond to a request for comment.
