2026年2月20日 / 美国东部时间晚上10:34 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
周五，特朗普政府与司法部门之间围绕谁有权领导美国司法部弗吉尼亚州东部地区办公室的冲突升级。此前，一个法官小组任命了一名临时最高检察官，而政府随后不久就将其解雇。
这是本月政府第二次迅速解雇由联邦法官挑选的检察官。政府正面临多项法院命令，这些命令声称其临时美国检察官的任职是非法的。
弗吉尼亚州东部地区的法官周五宣布，他们一致决定聘请资深诉讼律师詹姆斯·W·亨德利担任临时美国检察官。他们援引一项联邦法律，允许地方法院法官在因前临时美国检察官任期届满导致职位空缺时任命人员。
周五晚间任命宣布后不久，司法部副部长托德·布兰奇在X平台上表示亨德利已被解雇。
“又来了，”布兰奇写道，“弗吉尼亚东部地区法官无权挑选美国检察官，总统才有权。詹姆斯·亨德利，你被解雇了！”
哥伦比亚广播公司新闻联系亨德利寻求置评。
弗吉尼亚州东部地区美国检察官办公室的领导权数月来一直存疑。自临时美国检察官埃里克·西伯特9月因对前联邦调查局局长詹姆斯·科米和纽约州总检察长莱蒂西亚·詹姆斯的刑事调查中证据力度提出质疑后辞职。
西伯特离职后不久，前白宫助手林赛·哈利根被任命为临时美国检察官。在接下来的几周里，哈利根单独获得大陪审团对科米和詹姆斯（特朗普的两位长期政敌）的起诉，引起全国关注和严密审查。
11月，一名法官驳回了这些起诉，认定哈利根的任命非法。根据联邦法律，临时美国检察官的任期限制为120天——美国地区法官卡梅伦·库里称，西伯特2025年1月上任时，任期时钟已开始运行。而西伯特能留任更长时间，是因为当地法官延长了他的任命。
司法部辩称，除非参议院拒绝确认其任命，否则它有权自行任命临时美国检察官。但库里表示，这种解释会让政府通过“连续任命120天”来规避对永久美国检察官的参议院确认程序。
司法部对库里的裁决提出上诉。
此后，哈利根继续自称为美国检察官，引发了政府与美国地区法官大卫·诺瓦克上月激烈的拉锯战。
特朗普任命的诺瓦克法官要求哈利根解释为何继续使用该头衔。司法部回应称诺瓦克“滥用权力”，试图用“大棒”对付行政部门。
诺瓦克反击称，司法部的陈述“充满了更适合有线电视新闻脱口秀的刻薄言辞”。他补充说，如果哈利根继续使用“不当头衔”，可能面临纪律处分。
在诺瓦克回应几小时后，司法部长帕姆·邦迪宣布哈利根已离开司法部，称其处境“严重错误”。
弗吉尼亚州是至少五个联邦法官裁定特朗普政府任命的临时美国检察官任职非法的州之一，纽约、新泽西、加利福尼亚和内华达州也发布了类似命令。
批评者指责政府规避了美国检察官的参议院确认程序。但司法部辩称，总统和司法部长有权选择自己的检察官。在某些情况下，特朗普还指责参议院民主党人阻挠其提名人选。
上周，在纽约北部地区美国检察官办公室因法院命令出现空缺后，一个法官小组任命了新领导。与周五类似，布兰奇几乎立即宣布解雇新任命者。
“法官无权挑选美国检察官，总统有权。见我们宪法第二条，”布兰奇在X平台上发文称。
Trump administration fires new top prosecutor in Eastern Virginia almost immediately after he was hired by judges
February 20, 2026 / 10:34 PM EST / CBS News
The conflict between the Trump administration and the judicial branch over who can lead the Justice Department’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia reached a new stage Friday, after a panel of judges appointed an interim top prosecutor — and the administration fired him soon after.
It’s the second time this month that the administration has quickly sacked a prosecutor who was picked by federal judges, as the administration deals with several court orders asserting that its temporary U.S. attorneys were serving in their roles unlawfully.
Judges in the Eastern District of Virginia announced Friday that they had unanimously decided to hire veteran litigator James W. Hundley to serve as interim U.S. attorney. They cited a federal law that allows district court judges to appoint somebody to the role if it becomes vacant because a prior interim U.S. attorney’s term had expired.
Shortly after the appointment was announced on Friday evening, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on X that Hundley was fired.
“Here we go again,” Blanche wrote. “EDVA judges do not pick our US Attorney. POTUS does. James Hundley, you’re fired!”
CBS News has reached out to Hundley for comment.
The leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has been in doubt for months, since interim U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned in September after he raised concerns about the strength of the evidence following criminal investigations into former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Former White House aide Lindsey Halligan was named interim U.S. attorney shortly after Siebert’s departure. Over the following weeks, the office drew nationwide attention and intense scrutiny after Halligan alone secured grand jury indictments for Comey and James, two longtime Trump foes.
A judge tossed out those indictments in November, finding that Halligan had been unlawfully appointed to her role as the district’s top prosecutor. Under federal law, the role of interim U.S. attorney is limited to 120 days — and according to U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie, that clock started ticking when Siebert was appointed in January 2025. In Siebert’s case, he was allowed to stay in the role for longer, because the judges in the district extended his appointment.
The Justice Department has argued that it has the legal right to appoint interim U.S. attorneys as it sees fit, unless the Senate refuses to confirm its appointee. But Currie said that interpretation would let the government avoid the Senate confirmation process that’s normally required for permanent U.S. attorneys by just “stacking successive 120-day appointments.”
The Justice Department appealed Currie’s decision.
After that, Halligan continued to refer to herself as a U.S. attorney, sparking a dramatic back-and-forth between the government and U.S. District Judge David Novak last month.
The Trump-appointed judge ordered Halligan to explain why she kept using the title. The Justice Department responded by accusing Novak of engaging in a “gross abuse of power” and attempting to use a “cudgel” against the executive branch.
Novak hit back, writing that the Justice Department’s filing “contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show.” He added that Halligan could face disciplinary proceedings if she kept using the “improper moniker.”
Hours after Novak’s response, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Halligan had exited the Justice Department, citing circumstances that she called “deeply misguided.”
Virginia is one of at least five states where federal judges have ruled that a Trump administration-appointed temporary U.S. attorney is serving in their role unlawfully, with similar orders issued in New York, New Jersey, California and Nevada.
Critics have accused the administration of sidestepping the Senate’s confirmation process for U.S. attorneys. But the Justice Department argues that the president and attorney general have the authority to choose their own prosecutors. In some cases, Mr. Trump has also accused Senate Democrats of obstructing his nominees.
Last week, a panel of judges appointed somebody to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York after the job was left vacant due to a court order. In a series of events similar to Friday’s, Blanche almost immediately announced the new hire had been fired.
“Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, [the president] does. See Article II of our Constitution,” Blanche wrote in a post on X.
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