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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge wants to know why Lindsey Halligan is still using the title of U.S. attorney despite a judge ruling in November that she is legally not in the position. 

Halligan, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to be the acting U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, was found by a judge to not be legally allowed to serve in the role because the law doesn’t allow the position to be filled by two interim nominees in a row. 

The ruling came two months after Halligan secured indictments against  former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, only to have them thrown out due to her unlawful appointment. 

The issue stems from a recent case in which Halligan, on the indictment, represents that she is the U.S. attorney and “did so despite a binding Court Order entered by Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie on November 24, 2025, in which Judge Currie found that the ‘appointment  Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney violated 28 U.S.C. § 546 and the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution,'” U.S. District Judge David Novak wrote in a filing Tuesday. 

Judge Novak said that while the government is appealing the ruling, it is not subject to being ignored. He ordered the government to explain why Halligan has identified herself as the U.S. attorney within seven days. 

“Ms. Halligan shall further explain why her identification does not constitute a false or misleading statement,” the judge wrote.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

Halligan, one of Trump’s former personal attorneys, was named U.S. attorney by Trump in September after Trump ousted her predecessor, Erik Siebert, who sources say had expressed doubts internally about bringing cases against James and Comey.

Because Siebert himself had been named interim U.S. attorney by Trump last January, Judge Currie ruled that Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause that limits how long prosecutors can serve without Senate confirmation.

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(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Judge Aileen Cannon on Wednesday sentenced Ryan Routh to spend the rest of his life in prison for attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump on his Florida golf course in September 2024.

Prosecutors argued that Routh, 60, should get a life sentence after a jury last year convicted him on five counts for allegedly plotting “painstakingly to kill President Trump, and [taking] significant steps toward making that happen.” 

“Routh’s crimes undeniably warrant a life sentence — he took steps over the course of months to assassinate a major presidential candidate, demonstrated the will to kill anybody in the way, and has since expressed neither regret nor remorse to his victims,” prosecutors argued in a court filing. 

After a two-and-a-half-week trial in September, a jury quickly found Routh guilty on five felony counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer. 

Routh allegedly hid in the bushes of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and pointed a military-grade SKS rifle towards Trump and a Secret Service agent. 

“Routh’s crimes of conviction reflect careful plotting, extensive premeditation, and a cowardly disregard for human life,” prosecutors wrote. “Routh’s motive for his crimes was unconscionable – preventing the American people from electing the candidate of their choice for President. Routh’s gloss on his crimes has always been that anything he may have done was justified by events in Ukraine or American domestic politics.”

Routh represented himself at trial and attempted to argue that he never intended to harm Trump or the Secret Service agent, framing his actions as a form of protest against the president’s policies. After he was found guilty, he attempted to harm himself in front of the jury by stabbing himself with a pen. 

Since his conviction, Routh was appointed an attorney and has requested a 27-year sentence that would allow him to “experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.” His lawyer argued that Routh could not have a fair trial because he represented himself, even though Routh made that decision after repeated warnings about the potential consequences. 

“Defendant recognizes that he was found guilty by the jury but asserts that the jury was misled by his inability to effectively confront witnesses, use exhibits, or affirmatively introduce impeachment evidence designed to prove his lack of intent to cause injury to anyone,” his defense lawyer wrote. 

Routh had attempted to bolster his push for a lighter sentence by submitting multiple letters from friends attesting to his character and undergoing a psychiatric examination, which suggested he suffers from narcissistic personality disorder and bipolar II disorder. 

“Ryan has already shown, through his actions, that he is an asset to his community, not a threat. He deserves the chance to one day return home, where he can continue to be a loving father, partner, and a peaceful, contributing member of society,” wrote Darya Trotsenko, a Kyiv resident who said she met Routh when he attempted to volunteer to support Ukraine’s defense. 

But prosecutors argued that Routh continues to show little remorse for his actions, pointing to recent writings in which he referenced an earlier attempt on Trump’s life and wrote, “I hate our dictator missed the trial, can my appeal be heard in 30 years when he is gone.” 

In another court filing, Routh suggested he prefers that Trump personally punish him for his actions. 

“If the President wished to pummel the defendant just for good measure, put on the handcuffs and shackles and give it your worst. No cameras, no complaints, no charges/charges. Just good fun. Don’t be a p—-. (Can I say p—- or coward – sorry),” Routh wrote. 

Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, dismissed the criminal case against the president in 2024 related to his handling of classified documents. Routh unsuccessfully attempted to have Cannon removed from the case by arguing her appointment by Trump is a conflict of interest.

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(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that Lindsey Halligan, President Donald Trump’s appointee as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, must stop using that title before the court or face disciplinary action.

“Ms. Halligan’s continued identification of herself as the United States Attorney for this District ignores a binding court order and may not continue,” the order from U.S. District Judge David Novak stated.  

Judge Novak earlier this month ordered Halligan to explain to the court why she was using the title of U.S. attorney after a judge in that district found that her appointment was improper and violated the Constitution.  

The Justice Department’s fiery reply to that order, which included Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as signatories, drew Judge Novak’s ire. 

“Ms. Halligan’s response, in which she was joined by both the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show and falls far beneath the level of advocacy expected from litigants in this Court, particularly the Department of Justice,” Novak wrote Tuesday.

Halligan, who was a White House aide before being appointed interim U.S. attorney by President Trump, secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, only to have them thrown out when U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie determined in November that she had been unlawfully appointed without being either Senate confirmed or appointed by the federal judiciary.   

“The Court finds it inconceivable that the Department of Justice, which holds a duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States even those with which it may have disagreement would repeatedly ignore court orders, while simultaneously prosecuting citizens for breaking the law,” Judge Novak wrote in Tuesday’s order. “If the Court were to allow Ms. Halligan and the Department of Justice to pick and choose which orders that they will follow, the same would have to be true for other litigants and our system of justice would crumble.”

The judge warned that if Halligan continues to use the U.S. attorney title, she will be subject to disciplinary proceedings.

“Ms. Halligan and anyone who joins her on a pleading containing the improper moniker subjects themselves to potential disciplinary action in this Court pursuant to the Court’s Local Rules,” Tuesday’s order said.

The Eastern District of Virginia also issued a job posting to fill the vacancy left by Halligan’s improper appointment.

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment when contacted by ABC News. 

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