Pissed Off Judge Drops the Hammer on Trump DOJ & Halligan

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2:32I mean, it's so, I mean, I need asbestos gloves to hold it from Judge Novak in the Eastern District of Virginia, hot off the presses. Wait till I read it to you and how he goes after Lindsey Halligan, but also Pam Bondi and also Todd Blanche, and throws his appropriate weight around as an Article 3 lifetime appointed judge, a Trump appointed judge at that. We've got a lot of moving parts here that all just happened in the last few hours in the Eastern District of Virginia. We have the chief judge saying there's a vacancy created and Lindsey Halligan is no longer the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, but declaring that today, January 20th is the date for that.

3:12At the same time, you've got Judge Novak in his 16, sorry, 18-page decision saying, no, the vacancy was back on November 24th when Judge Curry was assigned the responsibility for deciding whether Lindsey Halligan was properly appointed or not by the chief judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. And now we've got it. You ready? Here we go. I'm Michael Popak. You're on the Midas Touch Network and Legal AF. Take a minute. Hit the free subscribe button. here, hit that subscribe button over on Legal AF as well. Let's start from the back and then I'll read you all the highlights. Here's the conclusion by Judge Novak.

3:51Michael Popok:How did we get here? Let me just give you the rundown of the cast of characters. On January 6th, and I don't think that date was chosen lightly, Judge Novak on his own initiative in a case not related to former FBI Director Comey or Letitia James entered what we refer to as an order to show cause, why Lindsey Halligan is still using the U.S. attorney title, despite being stripped of that title as being illegally appointed by Judge Curry in a decision back on November the 24th. Why is she signing indictments? Why is she signing pleadings? Why is she running the office? Why is she appearing before Judge Novak and have her, Halligan, explain herself, sign her own pleading and explain herself as to why she shouldn't be referred for discipline to have her license taken away for impersonating, violating orders and the rest.

4:47A week later, the Department of Justice blasted Judge Novak, blasted Judge Novak so inappropriately in calling him an inquisitor, out of control, has no right to challenge her title, and so on. But here's how the judge put it in his order, just to kind of set the stage. Ms.

5:09Michael Popok:Halligan's response, which is on the 6th, joined by Bondi and Blanche, in which she was joined by both the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, page 2 of the judge's order today, contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show, which is where Lindsay Halligan came from, and falls far beneath the level of advocacy expected from litigants in this court, particularly the Department of Justice. The court will not engage in a similar tit-for-tat and will instead analyze the few points that Ms. Halligan offers to justify her continued identification of her position as the U.S.

5:45Michael Popok:attorney before this court. Ultimately, the court concludes that Ms. Halligan's continued identification of herself as the U.S. attorney for this district ignores a binding court order and may not continue. Otherwise, Ms. Halligan and anyone who joins her on a pleading containing the improper moniker subjects themselves to potential disciplinary action. That's how he starts off the order. Because the Department of Justice said, how dare you with like temerity? How dare you judge to be the inquisitor? You don't have the inherent authority. And then they have this big heart of their filing, which said, we don't agree with Judge Curry, even though she was assigned the task of determining whether Lindsay Halligan was illegally appointed or not as a judge.

6:31We don't agree with the person in the black robe. We have our own opinion about what her order means. Her

6:36Michael Popok:order on November 24th quite clearly said that not only has she declared that Lindsay Halligan was illegally appointed because there's only four ways to fill a vacancy after the vacancy has been filled once before because we had Eric Seibert in that seat until he quit or was fired because he wouldn't go after James Comey or Letitia James. He was the 120-day acting interim allowed by the statute. You don't get another. After that, you only can fill it, as Judge Curry outlined, if you use the first assistant, right, the deputy to the U.S. attorney. Well, they didn't want to use that because that's not Lindsay Halligan.

7:17Michael Popok:Or they could have pulled somebody who had been confirmed by the Senate, but for a different role, like the Department of Agriculture, and stick that person in there for a period of time. They didn't want to do that. Or the judges of the district pick and fill the vacancy. And that's it. And Judge Curry said there is a vacancy that only the Eastern District of Virginia judges can fill. Now that was November 24th. We waited around for the Eastern District of Virginia judges to rule. Like, what are they waiting for? And that allowed the Trump administration to argue, we don't agree with her order.

7:50We think it only applies about Letitia James and James Comey and nobody else can call it out. And judge after judge, we had six judges in the Eastern District from magistrate judges to Article III judges all saying the same thing. How is Lindsay Halligan running around with the moniker of U.S. attorney when she's not and violating Judge Curry's order?

8:11Michael Popok:That's what Novak wanted to know. Here's now, well, let me read to you from the key sections here, starting with the conclusion in the back. And he cuts her some slack for being an inexperienced prosecutor, by the way. He says the following on page 18. The court recognizes that Ms. Halligan lacks the prosecutorial experience that has long been the norm for those nominated to the position. Consequently, and in light of her inexperience, the court grants Ms. Halligan the benefit of the doubt and refrains from referring her for further investigation and disciplinary action regarding the misrepresentations to this court.

8:52Michael Popok:However, this memorandum order provides notice that should Ms. Halligan persist in ignoring Judge Curry's orders or any other matter, the court will initiate disciplinary proceedings against Ms. Halligan and any other signatory to an offending pleading pursuant to federal rule of disciplinary enforcement five. That's you, Bondi. That's you, Todd Blanche. Here's what else the judge concludes. The Eastern District of Virginia has long enjoyed the service of experienced prosecutors with unquestioned integrity from both political parties for the U.S. attorney position. Despite coming from different political backgrounds and ideologies, they put the interests of the citizens of the district before their own personal ambitions, as true public servants do.

9:40Michael Popok:Unfortunately, it appears that this ethos has come to an end. Yeah, we're not nominating ethical people anymore, everybody. The Trump administration is out of business for that. A district judge acting at the discretion or sorry, the direction of the chief judge of the Fourth Circuit has ruled on behalf of the district judges of this district that Miss Halligan was invalidly appointed at the United States Attorney. See, that's the point that the judge calls out. The Department of Justice completely ignores that Chief Judge Diaz referred one issue to Judge Curry to decide for the entirety of the district whether Lindsay Halligan was illegally and unconstitutionally appointed.

10:18That was her remit. That was her scope. And they ignore that. They don't even mention the referral to Judge Curry. They just said, Judge, Judge, Judge Curry's just some judge. You don't have to, you're not bound by it. He is bound by it because it was sent by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals directly to Judge Curry to avoid a conflict of interest in the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Curry normally sits in South Carolina, but they didn't want that friction, that conflict, if the Eastern District judges have to fill the job, which they are in the process of doing as of today.

11:08all the Midas, Mighty, and Legal AF-ers who were approaching Michael Popak with their cases and saying, can you help us? And at that time, Popak was not able to. So he went out on his own. He started the Popak firm where he is now handling catastrophic injury cases like car accident cases, trucking cases, malpractice cases, big negligence cases, wrongful death cases. So if you or someone you know have a case like this the consultation with popox firm is free give him a call see if you have a case it's thepopockfirm.com thepopockfirm.com or you can call 877-popock-af-p-o-p-o-k-a-f so 1-877-pop-o-k-a-f give michael popock a call and i'm really proud of you popock thanks for all the hard work you're putting in.

12:03Michael Popok:Here's what he decides to do. Not only is he stripping her of her title, but he's stripping it off of all documents. He said, for all of these reasons, the court hereby strikes the words U.S. attorney from the signature block on the indictment, which is the indictment in this particular case, as well as all other government filings in this case. The government further bars Ms. Halligan from representing herself as the U.S. attorney in any pleading or otherwise before this court until such time as she is lawfully confirmed by the Senate and the bar shall be effective as of tomorrow. For the avoidance of doubt, he says in footnote five, you want to call yourself special attorney.

12:47I don't know what that means, but go ahead. That's that's doubt in footnote five. Now, let me read you from other aspects of the order.

12:55Michael Popok:particularly let me go to page um kind of the one of the major hooks of his decision making what we call the radio is about chief judge diaz and the referral to judge curry he said on page seven or on page six in levying the argument miss halligan fails to acknowledge the unique context of Judge Curry's order. As set forth on October 21, Chief Judge Diaz issued an order designating and assigning Judge Curry to hear and determine pending and future motions concerning the appointment qualifications or disqualifications of the United States Attorney or the office. In Comey matter and all other cases involving similar challenges.

13:42Michael Popok:Once and for all, it's Judge Curry. Judge Novak says on page seven, critically, Chief Judge Diaz assigned Judge Curry to resolve not a particular motion, but a specific issue, the validity of Ms. Halligan's appointment. With words that could not be clear, Chief Judge Diaz directed Judge Curry to resolve any and all motions, including other similar challenges. That's done. As such, Judge Novak determines, Judge Curry was appointed with the express mandate to speak for all judges in this district on the issue of Ms. Halligan's appointment. Then he cites to the Abrego Garcia case. See, Donald Trump sometimes makes precedent that bites him in the ass.

14:29Michael Popok:So on page eight, calling out the Department of Justice and the Trump administration again. Page 8.

15:04Michael Popok:prosecuting citizens for breaking the law. In the wise words of J. Harvey Wilkinson of the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, his bosses, we yet cling to the hope that it is not naive to believe our good brethren in the executive branch perceive the rule of law as vital to the American ethos, citing the Abrego-Garcia case against the Trump administration that went up to the United States Supreme Court, a firm 9-0, and that is from April of 2025. So the fact that he's even, he's citing a major case against the Trump administration, and then he reminds the Department of Justice in Halligan that you may not agree with Judge Curry, but she is the judge assigned to the matter.

15:50Michael Popok:You haven't sought a stay at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and therefore her order stands, you stand down as U.S. attorney. Here's how Judge Novak puts it. At the end of the day, Ms. Halligan's response, page 16, asserts that she is free to act in an unlawful capacity because she disagrees that she does so unlawfully. But that's not how our legal system works. By having continued to exercise a position to which she was unconstitutionally avoided, including the signing of the indictment as the United States attorney, she has exercised power she does not lawfully possess. This ain't over, folks.

16:29Michael Popok:As I said, before Judge Novak issued his order, and maybe he knew that it was coming out, we got a new order from the chief judge of this particular court, Eastern District of Virginia, in a very strange turn of affairs. she determined she ignored Judge Curry's order completely. And all her order did was declare that there was a vacancy as of the January the 20th today. And therefore she's advertising for people to come in and apply for the job, which was a head scratcher for me. This is before Novak's order just came out. And I said, what are you talking about? Judge Curry ruled on November 24th for the whole district.

17:17Novak is taking that position, but the chief judge, his own chief judge, is taking a different position about the analysis, which creates sort of a little bit of a loophole. And you know the Trump administration is going to try to drive a truck through it. Now, I'm not sure what's going to happen when you read these two things together, but certainly an odd state of affairs. But Novak is clear, decisive, no ambiguity. We've got an illegally appointed Lindsey Halligan. I'm going to cut you a break because you're inexperienced. But I think the days of having experienced ethical prosecutors who do the public service are over with this Trump administration.

17:56Michael Popok:And I'm also questioning whether whether they will ever comply with a rule of law in the executive branch. That's a Trump appointed judge sounding the alarm to the American people. Glad you're here on the Midas Touch Network and Legal AF. Catch me on my podcast, my solo podcast. It's called Intersection. Tuesday nights here on the Midas Touch Network, 8 p.m. Eastern time. Still doing, of course, Legal AF with Ben Micellis and Karen Freeman-Nicnifolo and still curating everything as the executive producer on the Legal AF YouTube channel. So until my next report, this is Michael. Can't get your fill of Legal AF?

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