XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics   
   From: bhs@panix.com   
      
   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/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)