A federal district judge, who excoriated a former Justice Department prosecutor for pursuing indictments against political adversaries of President Donald Trump, grew up in Greensburg and earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Vincent College.
David Novak, a Trump-appointed district judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, is one of two federal judges who issued orders Tuesday questioning the legitimacy of Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Halligan, appointed to a 120-day stint in September, pursued indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The indictments were dismissed after a judge ruled her appointment unlawful, a decision disputed by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Halligan left her post Tuesday as her 120-day interim period concluded.
Before she left, Novak’s described Halligan’s tenure as a “charade” and said she had been “masquerading” as a U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.
“No matter all of her machinations, Ms. Halligan has no legal basis to represent to this court that she holds the position. And any such representation going forward can only be described as a false statement made in direct defiance of valid court orders,” Novak wrote in his order.
“In short, this charade of Ms. Halligan masquerading as the United States attorney for this district is direct defiance of being court orders must come to an end,” he added.
Novak also took aim at Justice Department leaders, including Bondi and Blanche, for their defense of Halligan.
“Ms. Halligan’s response, in which she was joined by both the attorney general and the deputy attorney general, contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show and falls far beneath the level of advocacy expected from litigants in this court, particularly the Department of Justice,” Novak wrote.
In a post Tuesday night on X, Bondi wrote that Halligan “served with the utmost distinction and an unwavering commitment to the rule of law.”
“The circumstances that led to this outcome are deeply misguided. We are living in a time when a democratically elected president’s ability to staff key law enforcement positions faces serious obstacles,” Bondi added. “The Department of Justice will continue to seek review of decisions like this that hinder our ability to keep the American people safe.”
Novak did not return a message left at his chambers in Richmond.
A Greensburg native, Novak graduated from Greensburg Central Catholic High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Vincent in 1983 before going on to earn a law degree from Villanova University. Saint Vincent recognized Novak as an Alumni of Distinction honoree in 2023.
While serving as a federal prosecutor in Virginia, Novak was a key prosecutor in the 2002 federal trial of 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Former President Barack Obama appointed Novak to serve as a U.S. magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Virginia in 2012, a role he held until 2019 when Trump appointed him to be a U.S. district judge in the same district.
In a questionnaire accompanying Novak’s nomination in 2019, he listed his first job as a maintenance worker and student intern at the Tribune-Review in Greensburg.