From the catwalk to the center of power She is becoming the most dangerous woman in Trump's US judiciary
Once a beauty queen, then Trump's private lawyer - and now one of the most powerful women in the US justice system. Lindsey Halligan is at the center of several controversial cases against the president's opponents - and is coming under increasing pressure herself.
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- Lindsey Halligan was appointed by President Trump as the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia.
- The 36-year-old has no experience as a prosecutor, but is at the center of several charges against Trump's opponents.
- Lawyers and politicians accuse her of political favoritism and a questionable appointment.
She was Trump's lawyer, reality-tested and media-savvy - now Lindsey Halligan is at the center of American judicial politics. The 36-year-old lawyer from Florida, once a contestant in Miss Colorado USA, was appointed by President Donald Trump as the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia in the late summer of 2025. And without any experience as a prosecutor.
As the New York Times writes, Halligan had previously mainly handled insurance cases in Florida and had only been involved in a few federal cases - all as Trump's lawyer. Nevertheless, Trump appointed her without Senate confirmation to "get things rolling", as he wrote in a social media post.
Halligan thus took over one of the most important public prosecutor's offices in the country, responsible for national security cases and corruption. Just four days after taking office, she brought charges against former FBI Director James Comey - a man who has been a political opponent of Trump for years.
Halligan had previously attracted attention as a loyal Trump confidante. In 2022, she publicly defended him after the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago: "What the FBI did was a shocking abuse of power," she said on Fox News at the time.
Comey must stand trial in January
As the Washington Post writes, experienced federal prosecutors opposed the charges against Comey. Halligan pushed them through anyway - a move CNN analyst Katelyn Polantz described as "risky and politically sensitive".
Comey, who goes on trial in January, is now trying to overturn the indictment by challenging Halligan's appointment as unlawful. His defense is citing a law that limits interim prosecutors to 120 days. This period has long since been exceeded and Halligan has never received confirmation from the Senate.
«No one is above the law»
Prosecutor
Her appointment came after Trump's previous district attorney Erik Siebert resigned. Siebert had refused to bring charges against Trump's political rivals - for example against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had heavily implicated Trump in a fraud trial.
A few weeks later, Halligan also presented an indictment in this case. James is accused of bank fraud - an accusation she rejected as "completely baseless and politically motivated".
"No one is above the law," Halligan said after the indictment. However, observers saw this less as legal zeal and more as loyalty to the president.
Are courts throwing the charges overboard?
Halligan's appointment is now also causing legal unrest. Two US courts have already ruled in similar cases that Trump's "interim" prosecutors were unlawfully in office without Senate confirmation. If the court in Virginia rules similarly, the charges against Comey could be invalidated.
Legal experts such as Nina Mendelson, a lawyer at the University of Michigan, point out that "the law does not allow for successive interim appointments by the Attorney General".
Since her appointment, Lindsey Halligan has become one of the best-known, but also most controversial figures in the Trump administration. Her stellar career - from insurance lawyer to top prosecutor - is emblematic of Trump's new governing style: loyalty over experience.
