Khanna and Massey aim to find Bondi who insulted the Epstein file
Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massey are seeking to pursue Attorney General Pam Bondi on contempt charges related to the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on January 20 that Lindsey Harrigan has resigned from the Justice Department after a federal judge threatened disciplinary action against the controversial U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Harrigan is President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and the prosecutor who indicted former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James last year.
Those lawsuits were dismissed in November 2025 after a U.S. district judge ruled that Harrigan was not legally elected to head the Eastern District of Virginia. The Department of Justice appealed the dismissal.
In announcing his resignation at X, Mr. Bondi accused Virginia’s Democratic senators of taking advantage of the chamber’s long-standing tradition that allows a lawmaker from one state to block the nomination of that state’s U.S. attorney.
“Democratic senators have weaponized the blue slip process, making it impossible for Mr. Lindsay to continue his term as U.S. Attorney after his 120-day term expires,” Bondi said.
Without Senate confirmation, Harrigan’s interim appointment would have been limited to 120 days, but the judge found that term ended last year. Even under the Justice Department’s more lenient view of when her interim term ends, that 120-day period ended on Jan. 20.
judge threatens sanctions
The resignation came after District Judge David Novak, in a Jan. 20 ruling, ordered Harrigan to stop referring to himself as the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia in court filings.
Novak described Harrigan’s continued use of the title as an “example” and threatened to bring disciplinary proceedings against her and other prosecutors who continue to use the title in court. He also suggested that the Justice Department was defying a court order that found she was illegally appointed.
In a challenging filing last week, the department accused Mr. Novak of overstepping his authority by questioning Mr. Harrigan’s appointment.
In his ruling, Novak said the department’s motion “contains a level of vitriol worthy of a cable news talk show and falls far short of the level of advocacy expected by litigants in this court, especially the Department of Justice.”
Harrigan’s term began after his predecessor was fired.
Mr. Bondi reportedly appointed Mr. Harrigan to head the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in September, following the resignation of former attorney general Eric Seibert.
Mr. Siebert reportedly expressed skepticism about bringing charges against Mr. Comey and Mr. James and told colleagues in an email that he was resigning. However, President Trump later said in a social media post that he had fired him.
“I fired[Siebert]. There’s a great case going on and a lot of lawyers and legal experts are saying that. Lindsey Harrigan is a really good lawyer and I really like you,” Trump said in a Truth Social post addressed to Pam.
Hours after that post, Bondi issued an order appointing Harrigan as interim chief. Harrigan had never been a prosecutor before.
Within weeks of his appointment, Mr. Harrigan’s office secured indictments against both Mr. Comey and Mr. James.
However, on November 24, Senior U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Curry wrote an opinion stating that only the district court has the authority to appoint a new chief justice for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Contributed by: Reuters
