Judge Orders Lindsey Halligan to Explain Why She Still Calls Herself U.S. Attorney

On January 6, 2026, U.S. District Judge David Novak in the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Lindsey Halligan to explain, within seven days, why her continued use of the title "U.S. Attorney" does not amount to a false or misleading statement to the court, and why the title should not be struck from an indictment she signed. In November 2025, Judge Cameron Currie had found Halligan's appointment invalid because the 120-day statutory window for an interim U.S. attorney had run before she took office, and that she had been serving unlawfully since September 22.

The dispute goes to who may lawfully exercise federal charging power. Currie's ruling led to the dismissal of the criminal cases against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom Trump had publicly urged prosecutors to charge. Novak's order raised whether indictments signed under a contested title remain valid.

The Justice Department appealed Currie's ruling but did not seek a stay, leaving it in effect.