WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ethics experts today sent letters to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees demanding a full investigation into possible prosecutorial abuses and ethics violations by Lindsey Halligan, the newly appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in connection with yesterday’s indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.

President Trump has repeatedly and publicly demanded prosecutions of his perceived political enemies, including Comey, Senator Adam Schiff, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Yesterday’s indictment is the latest step in what appears to be an orchestrated campaign to weaponize the Department of Justice for political retaliation.

Reporting indicates that Lindsey Halligan moved forward with the charges despite line prosecutors previously rejecting the claims due to a lack of sufficient evidence. Halligan, a former Trump defense attorney with no prosecutorial experience, was installed after Trump attempted to fire Erik Siebert, the U.S. Attorney who resigned after refusing to bring charges on this matter.

“Donald Trump has ordered the criminal prosecutions of political targets and it appears that Lindsey Halligan is corruptly obeying,” said Virginia Canter, chief counsel and director of ethics and anti-corruption at Democracy Defenders Fund. “These events raise grave concerns. The Department of Justice must not be turned into a weapon for furthering the president’s many personal grievances. If the Trump administration can do this, then no American is safe from political prosecution.”

In addition to the congressional letters, leading ethics experts today also sent a detailed complaint to the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). That letter, signed by Amb. Norman Eisen (ret.), former Special Counsel to President Barack Obama; Richard W. Painter, former Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush; and Virginia Canter, former Associate Counsel to Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, request an immediate investigation into Halligan’s conduct. The signatories warn that this case represents “one of the most egregious examples of vindictive and meritless prosecution that we will have ever seen” and note that it mirrors abuses of power associated with authoritarian regimes.

The letter to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees is HERE

The letter to the OIG and OPR is HERE

###

Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.