The pursuit of vendettas<\/p>\n
After her predecessor refused to charge them, Halligan obtained indictments<\/a> of former FBI Director James Comey and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, carrying out one of President Trump\u2019s vendettas.<\/p>\n A judge dismissed the indictments because Halligan was appointed unlawfully. Several judges involved in the case implied ethics violations by her.<\/p>\n Halligan, a 2013 University of Miami law graduate, was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2014.<\/p>\n The proposed rule described in the Federal Register would demand that any licensing agency, such as the Florida Bar, notify the DOJ of a complaint against a present or former DOJ lawyer and defer action until the attorney general issues an all-clear.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a grave overreach.<\/p>\n The DOJ has no more authority over state Bar units than any private citizen does, but the notice refers to \u201cappropriate action,\u201d presumably a lawsuit, to compel compliance.<\/p>\n Trumpian propaganda<\/p>\n The rulemaking notice came larded with Trumpian propaganda. It says \u201cpolitical activists have weaponized the Bar complaint and investigation process,\u201d which \u201crisks chilling the zealous advocacy by Department attorneys.\u201d<\/p>\n The notice added, \u201cEven more troubling than the recent spate of state Bar complaints is the willingness of some state Bar disciplinary authorities to give credence to such complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n The general public has until April 6 to submit comments for or against Bondi\u2019s power grab. Go to federalregister.gov<\/a> and search for docket OAG199.<\/p>\n The notice did not mention that Bondi herself was named in a complaint the Florida Bar refused to accept, citing an unpublished policy against disciplining lawyers like her until they have left public office.<\/p>\n The bewildering and unexplained switch over Halligan began when the Bar replied to a complaint against her filed by the nonprofit organization Campaign for Accountability<\/a>.<\/p>\n It had sent the same complaint to the Virginia Bar, which does not list Halligan as a member.<\/p>\n The Campaign for Accountability accused her of misrepresenting herself as a U.S. district attorney despite a judge\u2019s order disqualifying her, and of misrepresenting relevant facts to the grand jury that indicted Comey and James. The Virginia Bar said the issue should be left to the courts.<\/p>\n Mysterious backtracking<\/p>\n The Florida Bar replied that it had an investigation pending. After many news outlets reported that, the Bar said it was an error and \u201cno such proceeding\u201d was pending.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Florida Bar received a complaint against Lindsey Halligan and, consistent with standard practice, the Bar is monitoring the ongoing legal proceedings underlying the complaint,\u201d said Bar spokesperson Jennifer Krell Davis.<\/p>\n That makes no sense \u2014 unless it means the Bar is waiting to see how the DOJ\u2019s appeals turn out. It shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Justice_Department_Halligan_95320.jpg\")
Lindsey Halligan outside the White House on Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin, File)<\/p>\n