Lindsey Halligan, who President Donald Trump picked to lead the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, has created "chaos" within her new office because she appears to be letting at least one MAGA-aligned influencer make staffing decisions, according to a new report.
Halligan was recently appointed to lead the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia, an office that typically handles cases about classified information leaks and national security issues. Halligan was an insurance attorney and Trump's former defense counsel before she joined his administration. She has no prior prosecutorial experience, according to reports.
The Daily Beast reported on Thursday that Halligan has recently fired two career prosecutors from her office, and both moves appeared to be predicated on negative statements from MAGA influencers.
"Questions about Halligan’s role—and the turmoil around her—have been mounting for days," the report reads in part. "Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi muscled her into the job late last month after Siebert balked at charging Trump’s foes."
Halligan recently fired Maya Song and Michael Ben’Ary, according to the report. Song had been recently demoted to line prosecutor following the resignation of former U.S. Attorney Erik Seibert. Ben’Ary had led the prosecution of an ISIS-K leader earlier this year, a case that Trump celebrated, according to the report.
Ben'Ary was removed shortly after a MAGA-aligned influencer posted on X about his work in former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco's office.
The same influencer had also posted about Song's demotion and noted that she was also close with Monaco.
