> James Hundley, a longtime Virginia litigator, was set to succeed Lindsey Halligan as interim U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Posted by roboliberal
> James Hundley, a longtime Virginia litigator, was set to succeed Lindsey Halligan as interim U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Posted by roboliberal
3 Comments
I believe this is the third time this happened.
According to the Washington Post’s Judges in Virginia name new U.S. attorney, then Justice Dept. fires him,
*Trump administration officials on two other occasions have fired acting U.S. attorneys appointed by the courts — first in New Jersey, then, last week, in Albany, New York. In both cases, federal judges had ruled that interim U.S. attorneys appointed by the Trump administration had been illegally serving in their roles.*
Trump is such a little fucking bitch.
**Submission Statement:**
This story is more interesting than it looks. It is not just about the court appointed interim US Attorney being fired, it is about whether the executive branch can simply ignore a statutory backstop Congress explicitly created.
28 USC 546 clearly allows district courts to appoint an interim USAO once the AG’s 120-day window expires. The DOJ’s move here effectively says either (1) that provision is unconstitutional, or (2) the President can remove a court-appointed officer at will anyway – which would render Congress’s appointment structure meaningless.
If the executive can nullify a court appointment by immediate removal, then Congress’s Appointments Clause authority becomes hollow in practice. That is a pretty serious SoP dilemma.
(I also think this demonstrates the fundamental logical inconsistencies of Meyers v US, imho)