Lindsey Halligan under investigation by the Florida Bar

Washington — Lindsey Halligan, the former interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, is under investigation by the Florida Bar, according to a letter from the organization confirming the probe which was obtained by CBS News.   

Halligan led cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of which were ultimately dismissed when a federal judge found her appointment to the post to be unlawful and in violation of the Constitution. 

The Florida Bar’s letter responded to complaints regarding Halligan’s conduct in those investigations that had been filed by the nonprofit organization Campaign for Accountability. The New York Times first reported the investigation by the Florida Bar. 

“We filed a complaint pretty fulsomely outlining all the ways that we thought her conduct around Mr. Comey and Ms. James’ investigations had violated the professional rules of conduct both of Virginia and Florida,” said Michelle Kuppersmith, Campaign for Accountability’s executive director. 

The first complaint was filed with the Virginia and Florida Bars in November, but the Virginia State Bar responded that it could not “initiate a disciplinary investigation based on ‘potential violations’ of disciplinary rules,” according to a letter obtained by CBS News. It said there had to be a determination from the court, such as sanctions for false statements, or that Halligan had to be charged and convicted of a crime. 

U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie ruled in November that Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and a federal law governing U.S. attorney vacancies. Because of the finding, Currie ordered criminal cases against Comey and James to be dismissed. The Justice Department appealed the decision, but it has not asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit to freeze Currie’s ruling while it considers the appeal.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in January that Halligan departed the Justice Department after a federal judge barred her from referring to herself as a U.S. attorney in court filings, finding her continued use of the title ignored a “binding court order” that disqualified her from the position in 2025. 

Kuppersmith made a second complaint to the Virginia and Florida Bars in February, reiterating the request for an investigation into whether Halligan had violated the Rules of Professional Conduct now that she had “been forced out of the position of U.S. Attorney.”

Within days, the Florida Bar responded. “We are aware of these developments and have been monitoring them closely. We already have an investigation pending,” the bar association said in its letter. Halligan was included on the letter.

The Florida Bar probe comes as the Justice Department recently proposed a rule to allow the attorney general to review state bar investigations into alleged misconduct by Justice Department lawyers.

“That is part of what prompted us to make this public,” said Kuppersmith, “because we want to encourage state bars to continue doing their duty where they see fit.” 

“The Florida Bar does not provide comment on active cases,” a communications director for the Florida Bar said.

Halligan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.