Attorney Lindsey Halligan on Fox News on August 16, 2022

A ruling disqualifying a California attorney for unlawfully acting in his role doesn't bode well for interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, appointed by President Donald Trump in September, according to Politico senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney.

A federal judge Tuesday said that LA-based US attorney Bill Essayli has been acting in the role unlawfully since July, declaring him disqualified from the position, Cheney reported.

"For the third time, a judge has ruled that one of the Trump administration's temporary U.S. attorney picks was unlawfully appointed and disqualified from the job. This time, it was Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in L.A." Cheney posted on X.

Halligan's appointment has drawn scrutiny due to her lack of prosecutorial experience, her past work as Trump's personal lawyer and her involvement in politically-charged cases against his adversaries.

Halligan served as a White House senior associate staff secretary and special assistant to the president before being tapped to replace Erik Siebert, who resigned under pressure for not pursuing cases against Trump's political opponents.

Shortly after her appointment, Halligan secured an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. In October, her office also indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Cheney points out that this could work against Halligan as well.

"The judge says the indictment Essayli presided over are not dismissed [because] they were signed by other lawfully appointed prosecutors. That reasoning, if adopted in other courts, bodes poorly for Lindsey Halligan, who was the only person to sign Comey/James indictments," Cheney wrote on X.