Crybaby activist group wants prosecutor Lindsey Halligan investigated, alleging "abuse of power" in charges against assholes Comey and James

A legal watchdog group is pushing the state bars of Florida and Virginia 
to investigate Lindsey Halligan, a Trump appointee who is leading the 
prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney 
General Letitia James.

The complaint from the Campaign for Accountability, which was submitted 
to the state bars on Tuesday, accuses Halligan of violating the Virginia 
State Bar's ethical rules for lawyers in her handling of the criminal 
charges against Comey and James, two longtime foes of President Trump.

"Ms. Halligan's actions appear to constitute an abuse of power and serve 
to undermine the integrity of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and erode 
public confidence in the legal profession and the fair administration of 
justice," the 17-page complaint reads.

Comey was indicted in Virginia in September for allegedly lying to 
Congress, just days after Mr. Trump named Halligan — his former personal 
lawyer — as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. 
Two weeks later, Halligan's office also secured an indictment against 
James for alleged bank fraud. Both Comey and James pleaded not guilty. 
Mr. Trump has lashed out against Comey and James for years, and publicly 
urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into both of them in September.

By seeking those indictments, the Campaign for Accountability alleges 
that Halligan violated the Virginia State Bar's rules banning lawyers 
from making false statements to a court and barring prosecutors from 
filing charges that aren't supported by probable cause.

She's also accused of breaking rules that require lawyers to provide 
"competent representation" to clients, avoid making certain out-of-court 
statements and avoid any "deliberately wrongful act that reflects 
adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or fitness to 
practice law."

The complaint noted several portions of the Comey and James indictments 
that critics have pointed to as possible weaknesses.

In particular, Comey was charged with lying to the Senate in 2020 when 
asked whether he'd authorized any FBI staffers to serve as anonymous 
sources in news reports about Hillary Clinton, but the staffer he was 
asked about during the Senate hearing is different from the one who was 
referenced in the indictment.

And James was accused of falsely stating on mortgage forms that a house 
she bought in Virginia would be her second home, when it was actually 
used as a rental property. But the Campaign for Accountability argues 
the form cited in the indictment didn't actually bar the house from 
being rented out.

The complaint also points to reports that other prosecutors and 
investigators were wary of charging Comey and James, including Erik 
Siebert, who led the Justice Department's outpost in the Eastern 
District of Virginia until he resigned under pressure and was replaced 
by Halligan.

"The evidence appears to demonstrate that, absent President Trump's 
intervention, neither Mr. Comey nor Ms. James would have been indicted," 
the complaint says.

It continues: "Ms. Halligan was well aware President Trump had installed 
her as Interim U.S. Attorney specifically to indict Mr. Comey and Ms. 
James and, within just a few days of joining the office, she did just 
that—despite career officials having found the cases insupportable."

The complaint also castigates Halligan for an alleged conversation that 
she had with legal journalist Anna Bower about the James case. Bower 
says that after she shared a New York Times article about the case, 
Halligan messaged her on the encrypted app Signal and accused her of 
"jumping to conclusions" and sharing "biased" information that was "way 
off."

This conversation, the Campaign for Accountability argues, may have run 
afoul of rules that ban lawyers from speaking out of court in a way that 
could hurt the fairness of a jury trial.

CBS News has reached out to Halligan for comment.

The Justice Department has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The complaint asks the Virginia State Bar and the Florida Bar to launch 
investigations into Halligan and, if warranted, impose disciplinary 
consequences.

It could be a while before the issue is resolved. The two states have 
different processes for reviewing bar complaints against lawyers, but in 
both cases, there are several layers of review by attorneys and 
committees before a lawyer would face discipline — which can range from 
a reprimand to suspension or loss of their law license. Both state bars 
say they receive thousands of complaints annually, most of which don't 
result in discipline.

Other high-profile complaints against lawyers, including the ones that 
led to former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani's disbarment in New York and 
D.C., have taken years to reach a formal conclusion.

Halligan is the latest Trump-linked lawyer to come into the Campaign for 
Accountability's sights. The group has also filed bar complaints against 
Alina Habba and John Sarcone, the top federal prosecutors in New Jersey 
and the Northern District of New York, respectively. Both prosecutors 
were named to their roles on an interim basis, and have faced challenges 
to their appointments.

Meanwhile, attorneys for both Comey and James have questioned Halligan's 
role in their clients' prosecutions. They argue Halligan was invalidly 
appointed to her role as interim U.S. attorney, and say the charges 
against the two Trump adversaries were driven by personal animus.

And a magistrate judge accused the Justice Department of taking an 
"indict first, investigate second" approach to the Comey case last week.

The Justice Department has defended Halligan.

"Our EDVA US Attorney Lindsey Halligan did an outstanding job," Bondi 
wrote on X shortly after Comey was charged. "We will continue to fight 
for accountability, fairness, and the rule of law because the American 
people deserve nothing less."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lindsey-halligan-bar-complaint-comey-james-trump/