“Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here.”

[berg80]

It was 1:20 p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 11. I was lounging in my pajamas, idly scrolling through Netflix, having spent the morning reading news stories, occasionally tweeting, and watching TV. It was a rare day off.

Then my phone lit up with a notification. I glanced down at the message.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.

Lindsey Halligan—the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia—was texting me. As it turned out, she was texting me about a criminal case she is pursuing against one of the president’s perceived political enemies: New York Attorney General Letitia James.

So began my two-day text correspondence with the woman President Donald Trump had installed, in no small part, to bring the very prosecution she was now discussing with me by text message.

Over the next 33 hours, Halligan texted me again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Through the whole of our correspondence, however, there is something Halligan never said: She never said a word suggesting that she was not “on the record.”
As a legal journalist covering the Justice Department, I had never encountered anything quite like my exchange with Halligan. Neither had my editor. Over the last several days, he and I spoke with multiple former federal officials and journalists who cover the justice system. None could recall a similar instance in which a sitting U.S. attorney reached out to chastise a reporter about matters concerning grand jury testimony in an active case.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here.”

My Signal exchange with the interim U.S. attorney about the Letitia James grand jury.

www.lawfaremedia.org

Not the smartest thing to do on Lindsey's part. Like......what the heck was she thinking?

The "only the best people" declaration takes another hit.

 

[whitehall]

Is the post about bragging rights or does it have some meaning?

 

[berg80]

Is the post about bragging rights or does it have some meaning?

Did you read the article?

 

[berg80]

Can't blame Lindsey for being on the defensive.

James Comey wants 'vindictive' case dropped and Trump's prosecutor disqualified​

James Comey wants 'vindictive' case dropped and Trump's prosecutor disqualified

The Constitution "forbids the government from retaliating against individuals for their protected speech," the former FBI director's team argued in a court filing.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[berg80]

Is the post about bragging rights or does it have some meaning?

Though the indictment notes that James declared “thousand(s)” of dollars in rent on “tax form(s),” it provides scant details about the circumstances of the supposed rental arrangement, including the timing and amount collected. Without knowing those details, I found it difficult to assess whether James had even violated the mortgage contract—much less whether she’d committed a crime by fraudulently entering into it or making false statements on her application intending to deceive anyone.

All of which is why, last Saturday, I took particular interest in a New York Times story about the Norfolk home at the center of the James case. The report revealed that the property is occupied by James’s grand-niece, Nakia Thompson. Several times a year, the report said, James stays at the property with Thompson and her children, who have lived there since James purchased the home in 2020.

The Times further reported that Thompson appeared before a Norfolk grand jury in June, testifying that “she had lived in the house for years and that she did not pay rent.” According to the report, Thompson was not asked to testify again, and the grand jury that voted to indict James was seated in Alexandria rather than Norfolk.

As I saw it, the Times report tended to undermine the indictment’s central claim: that James used the home as a “rental investment property.” The evidence, assuming the Times report is accurate, would be exculpatory, I reasoned, in that it tends to show that James did not primarily use the property as a means to collect rent.

 

[Marener]

Halligan doesn’t come across as very smart here.

 

[WorldWatcher]

Halligan doesn’t come across as very smart here.

If she was going to correspond with a journalist...

..... ..... She should have set up a Signal group with other DOJ officials...

..... ..... ..... ..... Then invited the journalist to "listen" in...

..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... But nah...

..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... That would never happen.

WW

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

It was 1:20 p.m. on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 11. I was lounging in my pajamas, idly scrolling through Netflix, having spent the morning reading news stories, occasionally tweeting, and watching TV. It was a rare day off.

Then my phone lit up with a notification. I glanced down at the message.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.

Lindsey Halligan—the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia—was texting me. As it turned out, she was texting me about a criminal case she is pursuing against one of the president’s perceived political enemies: New York Attorney General Letitia James.

So began my two-day text correspondence with the woman President Donald Trump had installed, in no small part, to bring the very prosecution she was now discussing with me by text message.

Over the next 33 hours, Halligan texted me again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Through the whole of our correspondence, however, there is something Halligan never said: She never said a word suggesting that she was not “on the record.”
As a legal journalist covering the Justice Department, I had never encountered anything quite like my exchange with Halligan. Neither had my editor. Over the last several days, he and I spoke with multiple former federal officials and journalists who cover the justice system. None could recall a similar instance in which a sitting U.S. attorney reached out to chastise a reporter about matters concerning grand jury testimony in an active case.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here.”

My Signal exchange with the interim U.S. attorney about the Letitia James grand jury.

www.lawfaremedia.org

Not the smartest thing to do on Lindsey's part. Like......what the heck was she thinking?

The "only the best people" declaration takes another hit.

This is what happens, when incompetent, unethical scumbags are hired simply for loyalty.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Is the post about bragging rights or does it have some meaning?

Just another example of the incompetence and stupidity of the Trump regime; another example of Trump’s criminality and corruption.

 

[Rogue AI]

Did you read the article?

Clearly you didn't. The whole thing is just silly TDS whining that is fully explained by the Baldassarre comments.

 

[Marener]

Clearly you didn't. The whole thing is just silly TDS whining that is fully explained by the Baldassarre comments.

Nothing about what Halligan did made any sense.

 

[Mac1958]

Not the smartest thing to do on Lindsey's part. Like......what the heck was she thinking?

There was a time I would have been shocked. Not now, though.

And parenthetically: I'm literally and seriously convinced that there is a rule within this administration that anyone dealing with the press MUST be combative, insulting and aggressive at all times. It certainly smells like Miller. Immediately put the reporter on the defensive so that you can avoid honestly answering the question.

This is just humiliating, embarrassing. I still have a difficult time believing we have sunk like this. But again, Berg, this country voted this in. And that's the goddamn problem.

 

[berg80]

Clearly you didn't. The whole thing is just silly TDS whining that is fully explained by the Baldassarre comments.

Actually, I did. In large part it's a recitation of the facts surrounding Seibert's resignation and Halligan's appointment. Your refusal to accept those facts is hardly surprising.

 

[Marener]

Imagine hitting up a reporter just to whine and then complain when the REPORTER writes and article about it.

How dumb is Lindsey Halligan?

 

[berg80]

There was a time I would have been shocked. Not now, though.

And parenthetically: I'm literally and seriously convinced that there is a rule within this administration that anyone dealing with the press MUST be combative, insulting and aggressive at all times. It certainly smells like Miller. Immediately put the reporter on the defensive so that you can avoid honestly answering the question.

This is just humiliating, embarrassing. I still have a difficult time believing we have sunk like this. But again, Berg, this country voted this in. And that's the goddamn problem.

Makes me think of the SNL skit with a person having a devil on his shoulder encouraging bad behavior. All members of the regime know they are being monitored by the orange piece of shit who expects them to be confrontational with media perceived to be hostile.

 

[berg80]

I'm sure we all remember the sorted affair leading to Lindsey's resignation in disgrace. Now the regime has moved to fire her competent replacement because..................not a sycophant.

Justice Department swiftly fires lawyer chosen as top federal prosecutor for Virginia office​

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer picked by judges to serve as the top federal prosecutor for a Virginia office that pursued cases against foes of President Donald Trump was swiftly fired Friday by the Justice Department in the latest clash over the appointments of powerful U.S. attorneys.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the firing of James Hundley on social media shortly after he was unanimously chosen by judges to replace former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. While the law says that the district court may choose U.S. attorneys when an initial appointment expires, the Trump administration has insisted that the power lies only in the hands of the executive branch.

“EDVA judges do not pick our US Attorney. POTUS does. James Hundley, you’re fired!” Blanche said in a post on X.

Hundley, who has handled criminal and civil cases for more than 30 years, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday evening.

The firing of Hundley is the latest reflection of tumult in one of the Justice Department’s most elite prosecution offices, which since September has been mired in upheaval following the resignation of a veteran prosecutor amid Trump administration pressure to prosecute two of the president’s biggest political foes, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Justice Department swiftly fires lawyer chosen as top federal prosecutor for Virginia office

A lawyer picked by judges to serve as the top federal prosecutor for a Virginia office that pursued cases against foes of President Donald Trump has been swiftly fired by the Justice Department in the latest clash over the appointments of powerful U.S. attorneys.

apnews.com