U.S. District Court Judge Cameron McGowan Currie has requested documents related to interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, in an effort to determine if an indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James is invalid.
In an order on Tuesday, Currie said she found it necessary to determine Halligan's involvement in the grand jury proceedings after James asked for the indictment to be dismissed, alleging that the interim U.S. attorney had been improperly appointed.
Currie requested "all documents relating to the indictment signer's participation in the grand jury proceedings, along with complete grand jury transcripts" by Nov. 5.
Trump installed Halligan as interim U.S. attorney after a previous prosecutor declined to indict James and former FBI Director James Comey, two of the president's perceived political enemies.
Attorney General Pam Bondi cited Section 546 while naming Halligan to the position. The law allows for 120-day interim appointments of U.S. attorneys. Halligan's predecessor, Erik Siebert, had also been appointed using Section 546.
A recent court decision involving former Trump attorney Alina Habba held that Section 546 does not permit a second appointment after the interim attorney reaches the 120-day limit.
Comey has also argued that an indictment against him is invalid because of Halligan's involvement in obtaining it.
Former federal prosecutor Patrick Cotter told Reuters that Halligan's appointment was "the executive branch removing the legislative branch from the appointment process."
"And the Constitution says you can't do that, that they have to both be involved," he added.
