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Trump’s hand-picked prosecutor Lindsey Halligan approaches a reporter about his coverage New York Attorney General Letitia James‘ the indictment in the exchange lasted 33 hours – and then insisted that the conversation was “off the record”.
Trump tapped last month Halligan To serve as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after his predecessor resigned and was reportedly found to have insufficient evidence in a criminal case. prosecute jamesUnder Halligan’s supervision, James was charged earlier this month with making false statements to a financial institution regarding a loan for a property purchased in 2020. He has denied any wrongdoing.
new York Times Then published an exposé about James’s Norfolk, Virginia home. Lawfare reporter Anna Bower tweeted screenshots of the article, which appeared to poke holes in the James indictment, and added her own commentary.
In an unusual move, Halligan reached out to Bower through the encrypted app Signal. Prosecutors rarely discuss ongoing cases. Still, the pair continued to go back and forth and in the end, Halligan insisted that everything was “off the record.”
According to the exchange published by Lawfare, the prosecutor wrote, “By the way – everything I sent you is off the record. You’re not a journalist so it’s weird to say this but I’m telling you.”
Independent The Justice Department has been contacted for comment.
The exchange began after Bower tweeted a segment Times The article appeared to refute parts of the indictment against James. The indictment accuses James of misrepresenting the purpose of the house; Prosecutors say James sought the loan to “use the property as a second residence,” but he instead used it as a “rental investment property, renting out the property to a family.”
family members, Times Reportedly, she testified before a separate grand jury in June that she had been living in the Norfolk home for years and had not paid rent. The newspaper reported that James makes “regular visits” to the residence.
Bowers took a screenshot of these details and called them “crucial exculpatory evidence” in a tweet, which caught Halligan’s attention. Halligan then reached out to Bower and told him that his reporting was inaccurate.
Halligan wrote, “You’re reporting things that simply aren’t true. Thought you should be careful.”
Bower then clarified that she was commenting on Times Reporting and asked if he had written anything wrong in any of his tweets.
Halligan responded, “You’re assuming exculpatory evidence without knowing what you’re talking about. That’s absolutely bizarre to me. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, before reporting. But jumping to conclusions is not good for your credibility.”
Bower continued to ask what improvements she could make but that she needed to know specifics, noting that she would be willing to withdraw her statements “but I can’t do that if I don’t know what the alleged error is.”
Halligan asked him to read the indictment, which stated that James had received “thousands of dollars in rent.”
The reporter again asked for clarification: “Although the indictment says that *at one point thousands of dollars in rent were paid,* I do not think this is inconsistent with her testimony as reported by the NY Times.”
The prosecutor replied: “You are biased. Your reporting is not accurate. I am handling the case and I am telling you. If you want to twist the facts to fit your narrative, there is nothing I can do. It is useless to even alert you.”
The next day, Bower asked additional questions about the case and other related media reports.
That’s when Halligan demanded that their exchange be taken “off the record.”
“I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work that way. You don’t have to say that in retrospect,” Bower responded.
Halligan insisted: “Yes, I know. Off the record.”
Bower then said that if he had asked, they could have talked off the record and asked if Halligan had any comments “for the story.”
Halligan replied, “It’s clear the entire conference is off the record. Messages are disappearing and it’s on Signal.” what’s your Story? You never even told me about any story.
The 36-year-old prosecutor has also overseen the prosecution of one of President Donald Trump’s alleged political enemies: Former FBI Director James ComeyThe indictment charges him with making false statements and obstruction of justice during congressional testimony he gave in September 2020. pleaded not guilty,
This week, Comey’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against him. To some extent, he argued that Halligan was “invalidly appointed” To serve in his post. He had no prosecution experience before being appointed to this role.
Halligan’s predecessor was appointed as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, which, down by lawCan serve only 120 days. He exceeded the 120-day limit before resigning; If that 120-day limit expires, the district court is required, by law, to appoint a U.S. attorney to fill the vacancy. The lawyers argued that Pam Bondi appointed him, but she “lacked authority”.
Last month, Trump posted on Truth Social, which was reportedly intended private message from Bondi, complaining about “Nothing is being done” James, against Comey and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California, who are “All are guilty as hell.”