Trump Appoints Former Lawyer Lindsey Halligan as Top Virginia Prosecutor Amid Pressure on Attorney General to Target Political Rivals

According to Rokna, citing The Guardian, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he is appointing his former lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia following an unusual public outburst in which he pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to aggressively pursue senior officials he considers political adversaries.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Bondi, writing, “Pam Bondi is doing an excellent job as attorney general of the United States. She is careful, intelligent, and patriotic, but the Eastern District of Virginia needs a strong prosecutor, like my recommendation Lindsey Halligan, to get things moving.”

Earlier online, Trump explicitly demanded that Halligan—his former special assistant and former beauty queen—replace Erik Siebert, a seasoned former U.S. attorney and ex-police officer who resigned after determining there was no basis to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump criticized the delay, stating, “We can’t wait any longer. Our reputation and credibility are at stake. I have been impeached twice and indicted five times—over nothing. Justice must be delivered now.”

Halligan previously served as part of Trump’s legal team during civil cases following the Mar-a-Lago raid for classified documents. It is not yet clear whether she will assume the role temporarily before confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Before Halligan’s appointment was announced, Mary “Maggie” Cleary, a Department of Justice attorney who had previously claimed she was targeted for her conservative views under the Biden administration, was reportedly tapped unexpectedly for the post, according to an email obtained by Reuters.

According to two sources familiar with the matter, Trump’s administration officials had expressed frustration to Siebert that his office had not yet filed criminal mortgage fraud charges against James. Siebert’s office is also reportedly investigating former FBI Director James Comey, an investigation linked to Trump’s 2016 campaign. Siebert had previously indicated he did not believe the evidence was strong enough to pursue charges against either official.