It Turns Out Lindsey Halligan Was a Fake Prosecutor All Along

"Can the president circumvent Congress and the judiciary to install partisan loyalists as prosecutors so they can charge his political adversaries for crimes they did not commit? On Monday, a court held that he cannot. The decision, by U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, rejected President Donald Trump's attempt to appoint Lindsey Halligan, a personal lawyer, as interim U.S. attorney in Virginia, condemning the scheme as a patently unlawful evasion of federal statute and the Constitution."

"This fight is not over. Currie's reading of the relevant law is compelling but contested; the Trump administration may well appeal. And her decision leaves open the possibility that a validly appointed U.S. attorney could indict Comey and James in the future. As a practical matter, though, a redo seems quite unlikely. And that reality underscores the core message of the ruling: The president cannot so easily anoint corrupted prosecutors to wield their vast authority against perceived foes of the regime."

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie rejected an effort by President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to appoint Lindsey Halligan as interim U.S. attorney in Virginia, calling the scheme an unlawful evasion of federal statute and the Constitution. Halligan, described as unqualified, was intended to bring indictments against James Comey and Letitia James that existing prosecutors would not pursue. Because Halligan never lawfully exercised the powers of the office, Currie dismissed both indictments in full. The administration may appeal, and a validly appointed U.S. attorney could pursue charges later, though such a redo appears unlikely. The ruling affirms limits on presidential replacement of prosecutors for political ends.

Read at Slate Magazine