The Intellectual Stylings of an Attorney in Over Her Head
Who could have seen this coming?
The following story needs to be read in full to totally appreciate it, via Lawfare: “Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here.”
The short version is this: Lindsey Halligan, one of Trump’s personal lawyers (discussed here) who has been elevated from Florida insurance lawyer to now federal prosecutor, contacted Anna Bower of Lawfare out of the blue via Signal (this administration will never learn) to harangue her about a tweet she sent out focusing on some NYT reporting about how weak the Leticia James case is.
Very late in the game, Hallagan declared the whole thing “off the record” (days into the interchange).
At 4:10 p.m., she texted me: “By the way—everything I ever sent you is off record. You’re not a journalist so it’s weird saying that but just letting you know.”
I responded: “I’m sorry, but that’s not how this works. You don’t get to say that in retrospect.”
Halligan was unpersuaded: “Yes I do. Off record.”
“I am really sorry. I would have been happy to speak with you on an off the record basis had you asked,” I said. “But you didn’t ask, and I still haven’t agreed to speak on that basis. Do you have any further comment for the story?
To my surprise, she kept going: “It’s obvious the whole convo is off record. There’s disappearing messages and it’s on signal. What is your story? You never told me about a story.”
The level of incompetence is staggering. I am not sure what is worse, thinking you can retroactively (and unilaterally) declare a conversation “off the record,” or believing that because she set her Signal texts to self-erase after eight hours meant that that was some kind of security against them being kept and used.
It just made me think of Michael Scott declaring bankruptcy.
Somewhat tangential to topic:
Indeed. Retainer to main lawyer, $50,000 plus a $50,000 bonus if I walked away free. $25,000 to the PI to discover the state’s only witness had relocated to Texas. $25,000 each to two subordinate lawyers for what my main lawyer called, ‘juice’. $175,000 total. (All in 2001 dollars.) I could have spent less, but I wanted them well-motivated.
Don’t blame the player, blame the game.
On topic: lawyering is hard. You want competence, so best not to choose lawyers based on whether or not you’d like to fuck them.
I’m not sure it’s mere incompetence, staggering or otherwise, but perhaps more a combination of privilege, naivete, a habit of ordering people around, and a touch of Dunning-Kruger on one’s ability to handle the media.
@Michael Reynolds:
Ugh, the Mar-a-lago face. At the ripe old age of 37.
My preference has always been toward natural beauty, and I certainly place a premium on personality and mental chemistry. But I can usually see how others find a person physically attractive, even if it’s not my preference (see: Sweeney, Sydney).
But damn. The idea that digital filters, pancake makeup*, and Edgar from Men in Black would combine to create an era of beauty standard best described as extra ghoul would have never crossed my mind.
*But the contouring technique is really good!
I read this earlier on Lawfare. Anna Bower asks over and over again what did I write that was incorrect. Halligan never answers directly. Just statements that Ms Bower is wrong and biased.
Halligan is not a former Fox News host, she just plays one in the courts.
@Michael Reynolds:..best not to choose lawyers based on whether or not you’d like to fuck them.
I’ll turn that around.
Best not to choose a wife just because she was in Law School when we met like I did.
(Oh wait, did I say this is off the record?)
Clever ploy to get Bower to concede. I bet Halligan is a superstar in the courtroom.
Trump is perpetually casting a television show rather than hiring “the best of the best.” You’d think he would have learned the lesson re lawyers after Alina Habba shat the bed in the E. Jean Carroll and NY cases (rescued by Todd Blanche and the odious Emil Bove). Trump liked how she looked on TV. Habba iced the cake when she said that given a choice she’d rather be pretty than smart because “smart can be faked.” And yes, she said that ON THE RECORD.
@Scott O: @Ken_L: Here rhetorical skills are most impressive!
This is funny and sad at the same time. I confess I would have had the urge to ask her if she was really a lawyer. I think I should also put in a good word for journalists. When I came back from Desert Storm I was really angry over some things that happened and didnt happen. A journalist wanted to interview me after the war and I was really mad so I wanted to tell him everything but he reminded me I should probably clear it with my CO if I was going to say anything negative. Saved me a lot of trouble.
Steve