DOJ defends Alina Habba's unusual appointment before skeptical Third Circuit

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Comey has raised this issue in his motion to dismiss

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/10/20/comey-prosecution-trump-vindictive/

In a second motion Monday, defense lawyers also asked Nachmanoff to dismiss the case on grounds that Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor Trump hand-selected to oversee it, was appointed in violation of laws governing how long interim U.S. attorneys can serve.

Trump installed Halligan as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month after he and others pressured her predecessor, Trump-appointee Erik S. Siebert, to resign in part over his conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to move forward with the case against Comey.

Because Siebert had already served a full 120-day term as interim U.S. attorney before his ouster, the Trump administration could not legally appoint another interim appointee to succeed him, Comey’s attorneys argued. Under the law, they argued, it was up to the judges of the Eastern District of Virginia, not the Trump administration, to select a new temporary appointee until the Senate voted to approve a presidential nominee to permanently fill the position.