ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Lawyers for who have been charged by the Justice Department asked a judge on Thursday to dismiss the cases against them, saying the prosecutor who secured the indictments was illegally installed in the role.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie said she expects to decide by Thanksgiving on challenges to Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. The cases against and , both shepherded by the hastily installed Halligan, have amplified concerns the Justice Department is being used as a weapon to target the Republican president's perceived adversaries.

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