A few days after a U.S. magistrate judge criticized U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Justice Department for adopting an “indict first, investigate later” approach in the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, a bar complaint has been lodged against the new prosecutor who led the indictment.

The left-leaning watchdog organization Campaign for Accountability (CfA) submitted a bar complaint on Tuesday against Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan, previously a defense attorney for former President Donald Trump, is accused of breaching the Rules of Professional Conduct. These allegations mirror recent claims made by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ team.

CfA, which had filed a complaint against another “special attorney” appointed by Bondi in August, contends that Halligan’s actions warrant the attention of both the Florida Bar and the Virginia Bar. Their complaint highlights Halligan’s harsh communication with Lawfare’s Anna Bower on Signal regarding the ongoing prosecution of James and her decision to pursue indictments against both the New York Attorney General and Comey, despite career prosecutors deeming the evidence insufficient.

The complaint alleges that Halligan, upon taking office, ignored the assessments of seasoned career prosecutors who determined that the evidence against Comey was not viable for prosecution. Halligan is accused of hastily indicting Comey within four days without adequately reviewing the testimony, which allegedly led her to overlook that Comey’s statements were either true or not demonstrably false. The complaint outlines a similar pattern in Halligan’s handling of the case against James, stating that she rushed to indict her shortly after assuming her interim role, disregarding findings from experienced prosecutors.

In questioning Halligan’s capabilities and integrity, the complaint also criticizes her comments made on Signal, referencing remarks made by U.S. Magistrate William Fitzpatrick from the bench just days earlier.

“At a November 5, 2025 hearing in the Comey case Federal Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick criticized prosecutors saying, ‘[r]ight now, we are in a bit of a feeling of indict first, investigate later,’” the complaint said.

Fitzpatrick was not the first jurist to make a statement of the kind. In September, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui criticized the DOJ’s “many misfires,” reportedly describing the government as taking a “we’ll arrest people … then see what happens” approach to law enforcement.

The bar complaint alleged that Halligan did much the same by “proceeding with charges that career prosecutors, as well as, in Mr. Comey’s case, a special counsel appointed by President Trump, deemed unsupported by evidence,” apparently referring to former special counsel John Durham, who was appointed by ex-AG Bill Barr, not Trump.

Halligan, the complaint continued, “appears to have violated her additional responsibility as a prosecutor to refrain from prosecuting charges not supported by probable cause.”

“It is difficult to overstate the damage wrought by Ms. Halligan’s actions,” CfA said, before placing Halligan at the center of “[w]eaponizing the DOJ to prosecute the president’s enemies could destroy the democratic principles at the foundation of our Constitution.”

“Her conduct undermines the integrity of the DOJ, appears to have violated multiple provisions of the Virginia and Florida Rules of Professional Conduct, and undoubtedly will erode public trust in the legal system if permitted without consequence,” the complaint concluded.

Notably, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, as recently as Friday at an annual Federalist Society event for attorneys, responded directly to this very criticism.

“When I read now that we’re weaponizing, I feel like I’m being gaslit, because we’re doing exactly the opposite,” Blanche said, according to Politico. “I take umbrage at the idea that the work that our prosecutors are doing is weaponization, because I have receipts. I know what happened the past couple years. I’ve lived it.”

Blanche, the No. 2 official in the DOJ, like Halligan was a criminal defense attorney for Trump.