Former FBI Director James Comey criticized the competence of the Department of Justice following the appointment of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan as the lead prosecutor in his case.
He called it proof that the prosecution "has no merit" due to her lack of experience, the New York Post reported Tuesday.
Comey's attorneys filed new court papers Monday arguing that Halligan's appointment shows the case is a politically motivated prosecution in retaliation for the FBI's "Russiagate" investigation during President Donald Trump's first term.
"No career prosecutor was willing to bring the case; the President nevertheless publicly demanded prosecution; and at the last minute, he installed a White House aide with no prosecutorial experience to deliver the desired result," Comey's legal team wrote.
Halligan, 36, is a former Colorado beauty queen and Florida insurance lawyer who served as Trump's personal attorney in 2021 before joining the White House as a senior associate staff secretary in his current administration.
Former Watergate attorney Nick Akerman warned last month that Halligan is "playing a pretty dangerous game" by prosecuting the former FBI director, telling Newsweek that the bar may open an investigation into her conduct, which could lead to disbarment.
Akerman, who served as an assistant prosecutor during Watergate, wrote in a Substack article that Halligan "will not be the first, nor likely the last, Trump lawyer to lose her law license for blindly following the whims of Donald Trump."
Also on Tuesday, a legal watchdog group filed complaints against Halligan with the Florida and Virginia state bars, alleging she may have violated professional conduct rules. "More generally, Ms. Halligan's actions appear to constitute an abuse of power and serve to undermine the integrity of the Department of Justice and erode public confidence in the legal profession and the fair administration of justice," the complaint stated.
The Justice Department maintains that Comey is guilty of misleading investigators about authorizing leaks during his time as FBI director.
To secure a conviction, prosecutors must prove his statements were false, that he knew they were false when made, and that they were material to the Senate Judiciary Committee's investigation.
Comey pleaded not guilty last month during an appearance before U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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