司法部长帕姆·邦迪正试图重启对前联邦调查局(FBI)局长詹姆斯·科米和纽约州总检察长莱蒂西亚·詹姆斯的刑事诉讼，她主张自己有权连续任命代理美国检察官。
此前，一名美国地区法官裁定，弗吉尼亚州东区前临时美国检察官林赛·哈利根的任命违反了宪法任命条款以及关于美国检察官任命方式的法律，属于非法任命，因此相关案件被驳回。
法院认定，哈利根并非“依法授权的律师”，无权进行大陪审团诉讼程序。
在周一向美国联邦第四巡回上诉法院提交的上诉中，邦迪和副司法部长托德·布兰奇辩称，司法部正在利用国会赋予的工具来处理美国检察官职位空缺问题。
邦迪和布兰奇称，被告并非由哈利根起诉，而是“由一组独立于她的公民同胞起诉，这些公民认为他们有犯联邦罪行的可能性”。
这些论点此前已被地区法院驳回。
哈利根曾是白宫助手，在特朗普迫使前任临时美国检察官埃里克·西伯特离职后，她被任命为弗吉尼亚州东区临时美国检察官。据消息人士透露，西伯特曾抵制对科米和詹姆斯提起诉讼。
在驳回对科米和詹姆斯的诉讼时，下级法院认为哈利根的任命不合法，因为法律不允许在没有参议院确认或联邦司法机构任命的情况下，连续由两名临时提名人担任该职位。
弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员蒂姆·凯恩和马克·沃纳在哈利根被提名后发表联合声明称，白宫“从未期望”哈利根能获得参议院确认，部分原因是白宫从未安排哈利根与弗吉尼亚州参议员会面。
1月20日，在美国地区法官戴维·诺瓦克威胁称，如果哈利根继续不当使用美国检察官头衔，将对她以及任何与她一同出庭的律师采取纪律处分后，哈利根离开了司法部。
Pam Bondi trying to revive cases against James Comey and Tish James despite indictments being tossed
Attorney General Pam Bondi, seeking to revive thecriminal casesagainst former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, is arguing that she can appoint successive acting U.S. attorneys.
The cases werethrown outafter a U.S. district judge found that the former interim U.S. attorney for the Easter District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, had beenunlawfully appointedin violation of the Constitution's appointments clause and laws that govern how U.S. attorney appointments can be made.
Halligan, the court found, was not an "attorney authorized by law" to conduct grand jury proceedings.
In the appeal filed Monday to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche argue that the Justice Department is utilizing the tools Congress gave them to deal with U.S. attorney vacancies.
The defendants were not indicted by Halligan, Bondi and Blanche argue, but were "charged by a group of [their] fellow citizens acting independently of [her]" who found probable cause to believe that they committed federal crimes."
These same arguments were rejected by the district court.
Halligan, a former White House aide, was named interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after Trumpforced outprevious interim U.S. attorney Erik Siebert, who sources said had resisted bringing the cases against Comey and James.
In its dismissal of the Comey and James cases, the lower court found that Halligan had beenunlawfully appointedbecause the law doesn't allow the position to be filled by two interim nominees in a row without either Senate confirmation or appointment by the federal judiciary.
Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia issued a joint statement following Halligan's nomination asserting that the White House "never expected" Halligan to be confirmed by the Senate in part because it never arranged a meeting between Halligan and the Virginia senators.
Halligan left the Justice Department on Jan. 20 after U.S. District Judge David Novak threatened disciplinary action against her and any attorneys who appeared with her in pleadings before the court if she continued to improperly use the title of U.S. attorney.
