Lindsey Halligan
Halligan has become the focus of intense scrutiny following her unsolicited text messages to a journalist while overseeing investigations involving two prominent Trump adversaries.

A single message sparked one of Washington's most unexpected legal storms.

'Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,' read the text received by Lawfare senior editor Anna Bower on 11 October.

The sender claimed to be Lindsey Halligan, interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and proceeded to criticise Bower's reporting on a case Halligan was personally overseeing.

Within hours, the unauthorised exchange of encrypted Signal messages, which Halligan later insisted was entirely 'off the record', had become headline news across Washington's legal and political circles.

The Department of Justice confirmed the authenticity of the messages, describing them as an 'attempt to point [the reporter] to facts', while declining to elaborate.

A Controversial Appointment Under Pressure

President Donald Trump appointed Halligan on 20 September 2025 to lead the powerful Eastern District of Virginia, just days after the abrupt resignation of US Attorney Erik Siebert. Siebert had reportedly objected to advancing criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, citing doubts about the evidence.

Halligan, a former Trump lawyer and one-time beauty-pageant contestant from Florida, had never prosecuted a federal case before. Her rapid elevation raised eyebrows in legal circles. The Alexandria-based district handles many of the nation's most sensitive intelligence and political corruption cases.

Within weeks of taking office, Halligan's team secured indictments against both Comey and James — a pace that legal observers called 'extraordinary' for a new US Attorney. Court records show Halligan personally signed the indictments, which allege that Comey made false statements to Congress and James committed mortgage fraud. Both deny any wrongdoing.

The speed of these prosecutions has intensified scrutiny of the Justice Department's relationship with the White House, particularly given Halligan's previous role as Trump's personal counsel during the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation.

The Texts That Triggered a Storm

According to Lawfare, Halligan contacted Bower over the weekend to complain about her posts summarising The New York Times coverage of the James case. Halligan accused the journalist of bias and misrepresenting grand-jury testimony. When Bower sought official comment from the Department, Halligan abruptly declared the conversation 'off record', a claim the reporter disputed.

The Justice Department later issued a combative statement, saying Halligan's outreach was meant to 'point [Bower] to facts, not gossip', but offering no explanation for why a sitting U.S. Attorney had directly engaged a journalist about an active prosecution. It concluded: 'Good luck ever getting anyone to talk to you when you publish their texts.'

Legal-ethics experts note that such contact is almost unheard-of for a federal prosecutor. Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure bars prosecutors from revealing grand-jury matters. While journalists face no such limits, prosecutors generally avoid even the appearance of discussing ongoing cases outside official filings.

Escalating Scrutiny and Ethical Questions

The controversy has drawn mounting attention from former federal prosecutors and ethics specialists, who question whether Halligan's outreach breached Justice Department guidelines on media contact. Several told Lawfare they could not recall another U.S. Attorney initiating an unsolicited conversation with a reporter about an open case.

The uproar follows earlier turbulence inside Halligan's office. In September, she reportedly dismissed two senior career prosecutors for allegedly leaking information to the press — just days before sending the very messages that have now placed her under public scrutiny.

From Pageants to Power

Halligan's background has only heightened public fascination. A University of Miami law graduate, she first drew attention in the early 2010s as a beauty-pageant contestant before practising insurance litigation in Florida. Her work for Trump during the 2022–23 Mar-a-Lago probe brought her into his political inner circle.

Her rapid rise to one of America's most visible prosecutorial posts underscores Trump's broader strategy of promoting trusted loyalists into senior legal positions. Halligan's decisions stand at the centre of some of the Justice Department's most politically charged prosecutions.

The Department of Justice has not indicated whether it will pursue a formal review of the incident. Halligan herself has issued no public comment beyond the brief agency statement confirming the texts' authenticity.

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