Bondi cries foul on Democrats’ abuse of blue slips after U.S. attorney’s exit in Virginia

Attorney General Pam Bondi blasted Democratic senators for sabotaging the Trump administration’s pick for U.S. attorney in Virginia by playing hardball with the blue slip tradition that gives home-state senators outsized say in federal prosecutor nominations.

Nominees for U.S. attorney positions in New York, New Mexico, New Jersey, Nevada and California also have faced challenges, stalling prosecutorial pursuits in those districts. Senators have blocked some nominations, and federal courts have invalidated others.

Ms. Bondi said Wednesday that Lindsey Halligan was leaving her role as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia because she was denied a confirmation hearing, presumably because Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner, both Democrats, didn’t support her bid.

“Democratic senators weaponized the blue slip process, making it impossible for Lindsey’s term as United States Attorney to continue after the expiration of her 120-day appointment,” Ms. Bondi said in a statement.

Blue slips are used in a century-old practice in which the Senate Judiciary Committee asks home-state senators for their approval of a U.S. attorney or judicial nominee.

If the senators voice their disapproval or don’t return the blue slip, then the nominee’s chances of confirmation are slim to none.

“Virginia senators of both parties have always worked closely with presidential administrations, regardless of party, on Virginia nominations. That fair and deliberate process has always included at least one meeting with the nominees to discuss their qualifications — until now,” Mr. Kaine and Mr. Warner said in a joint statement.

“It has been over 16 weeks since the Trump administration nominated Lindsey Halligan, but neither she nor the White House ever reached out to meet with us or even introduce herself,” their statement said. “It’s clear this administration never expected her to be confirmed by the Senate given her lack of qualifications to serve as a U.S. Attorney, and instead wanted to end-run around the Senate and the Judiciary Committee.”

A federal judge ruled this month that Ms. Halligan, a former personal attorney for President Trump, held the position unlawfully. Another judge said she was wrongfully appointed to the job.

The Justice Department fiercely defended Ms. Halligan’s lawful status in its response to the judge’s order, but it ultimately relented because the president cannot appoint two consecutive interim U.S. attorneys.

Ms. Halligan took over the U.S. attorney position in the fall. Her predecessor did not want to prosecute two of Mr. Trump’s political opponents, former FBI Director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

After the latest move against Ms. Halligan, Ms. Bondi said, “The circumstances that led to this outcome are deeply misguided. We are living in a time where a democratically elected president’s ability to staff key law enforcement positions faces serious obstacles. The Department of Justice will continue to seek review of decisions like this that hinder our ability to keep the American people safe.”

Ms. Bondi’s ire toward the blue slip process aligns with Mr. Trump’s view. Last month, he called the blue slips a “scam” and asked for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, to eliminate them.

Mr. Thune and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, have defended the informal agreement aimed at achieving consensus between the executive and legislative branches.

Multiple states with two Democratic senators have thwarted the White House nominees for U.S. attorney.

Ryan Ellison, a former acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico, said last week that a judge declared his title invalid. Mr. Ellison previously served as the interim U.S. attorney, but he resigned in August before reaching the 120-day limit for that role so Ms. Bondi could name him acting U.S. attorney.

The Jan. 14 ruling said Mr. Ellison could not hold that position but was permitted to stay on board as the first assistant U.S. attorney, which essentially grants him the same authority as the federal district’s top prosecutor.

In Albany, New York, a federal judge ruled that U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III could no longer carry prosecutorial powers because his 120-day interim period had lapsed.

Unlike in New Mexico, where Mr. Ellison was involved, a judge ruled that the Justice Department’s changing of Mr. Sarcone’s title to acting U.S. attorney was unfeasible because “federal law does not permit such a workaround.”

Mr. Sarcone, a former campaign attorney for Mr. Trump, remains listed as acting U.S. attorney on the Northern District of New York website.

Another Trump ally, Alina Habba, is vying to regain her job as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. The Senate stalled her confirmation.

Ms. Bondi filed with the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week to rehear Ms. Habba’s case. The court ruled in December that she overstayed her interim appointment.

Ms. Habba, who worked as a personal attorney for Mr. Trump before joining the government, said in the filing that she intends to return to her former post if the appeals court or Supreme Court sides with her.

Sigal Chattah and Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutors for Nevada and California’s Central District, respectively, have been reassigned as first assistant U.S. attorneys while the Senate remains idle on their confirmations.

Ms. Chattah, an ardent supporter of Mr. Trump, is appealing a disqualification ruling in Nevada’s courts.

A court ruled that Mr. Essayli, who launched aggressive prosecutions against protesters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles, said he will maintain his responsibilities as the chief federal prosecutor.

Former Delaware U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray stepped down last month because she “cannot in good conscience allow my office to become a political football.” She blasted Sens. Christopher A. Coons and Lisa Blunt Rochester for “refusing to return a blue slip for political reasons, not performance reasons.”

The resistance to the president’s prosecutorial nominees has agitated Mr. Grassley, who last month said his committee has labored to secure the formal appointments of U.S. attorneys.

“Despite the worst Democrat interference in history, the Senate is on pace to confirm as many of President Trump’s U.S. Attorneys this year as were confirmed in the first year of President Biden’s term,” Mr. Grassley said in a December statement. “Thirty-six reported out of the Judiciary Committee and 31 will be confirmed this year.”

Mr. Grassley said the White House could help by sharing background investigations and other paperwork for the nominees, which have kept some of them idling in committee.

Jay Town, a U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2017 to 2020, said the legal bona fides of this batch of U.S. attorneys are as good as any other.

He suggested that some federal judges are likely entertaining legal challenges to the prospective prosecutors because they don’t want to deal with the volume of cases that could be filed if they are confirmed.

Mr. Town said the president’s U.S. attorneys would focus heavily on bringing federal charges against felons caught with firearms.

State courts typically give light sentences to ex-cons convicted of carrying guns, he said, but federal charges ensure significant time behind bars.

Mr. Town acknowledged that such cases are not the most glamorous to pursue in court but the convictions get trigger-pullers off the street — a key part of Mr. Trump’s approach to fighting crime.

“People voted for President Trump to lower crime, and that’s the function of the Justice Department,” Mr. Town said. “Anybody that’s obstructing that is just obstructing the Trump agenda.”