Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor bringing the charges, started her job this weekpublished at 00:50 BST
00:50 BST
Image source, Getty Images
Lindsey Halligan, one of president Trump’s former defence lawyers, just took over a key federal prosecutor’s office in Virginia earlier this week.
She takes the helm as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia days after Erik Siebert, the former top federal prosecutor for the region, resigned over fears he would be forced out for failing to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud.
Almost immediately after taking office, Halligan brought the case to a grand jury, which agreed there was enough evidence to prosecut the cast.
Earlier this week Trump threw his support behind Halligan saying he has confidence she can “get things moving”.
Before this, Halligan was part of an effort by the White House to remove “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution and its museums, education and research centres, and the National Zoo.
Trump in his second term has often turned to his personal attorneys for key government roles, most notably putting his former defence lawyer, Alina Habba, in the same posting as Halligan’s for New Jersey.