Lindsey Halligan, a former real estate lawyer turned Trump attorney, just made her federal courtroom debut — and it was, by all accounts, a mess.
Late Thursday, Halligan announced that she had secured a grand jury indictment against former FBI Director James Comey on two federal charges. But according to MSNBC’s Ken Dilanian, her presentation of the case raised more red flags than cheers — starting with the fact that she didn’t even know where the grand jury room was.
“She didn’t even know where the grand jury room was,” Dilanian said during a Friday morning segment. “She probably had to be shown where it was.”
Halligan was recently appointed as U.S. Attorney by Trump Attorney General Pam Bondi after the previous officeholder reportedly refused to pursue charges against Comey or New York Attorney General Letitia James. Her resume includes zero prosecutorial experience, and until recently, her focus was real estate litigation in Florida.
Despite that, Halligan took the highly unusual step of presenting the Comey case to the grand jury herself. Inexperienced or not, she signed the indictment, stood in court, and took responsibility for a presentation that quickly turned chaotic.
“There was a little awkwardness in the courtroom because two different versions of the indictment, as I understand it, were presented,” Dilanian said. “The judge questioned what was going on and noted that Halligan had signed both of them.”
The confusion reportedly stemmed from a third charge that the grand jury declined to indict — a “no-bill” — yet somehow made it into one version of the documents. Whether it was sloppiness, inexperience, or both, the moment didn’t inspire confidence.
“It just underscored how new she is at this,” Dilanian added. “And it’s raising questions on who is going to prosecute this case.”
Right now, no one in the Eastern District of Virginia — the office officially handling the case — has stepped forward to lead the prosecution. If Halligan remains in charge, she’ll be trying a high-profile criminal case with no prior courtroom experience in that role. If not, the DOJ may need to bring in outside counsel to handle a case already under intense political scrutiny.
Even MSNBC’s host seemed baffled by the entire setup: “Ken, just to underline, you mentioned that Halligan was the person who signed this indictment, and that in itself is a bit unusual, as I understand it. But there was also the fact that she presented the case to the grand jury, right? How unusual is that?”
“Incredibly unusual,” Dilanian replied flatly.
The courtroom stumble has only fueled further debate about the politicization of the Justice Department, especially in cases involving Trump’s rivals. Whether the charges against Comey will hold up remains to be seen. But what’s clear already is that Halligan’s first appearance as a federal prosecutor was anything but confident — and people are noticing.
Watch the clip below:
