A federal judge said Thursday that she expects to issue a decision before Thanksgiving on whether Lindsey Halligan is lawfully serving in her role as U.S. attorney. Attorneys for former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James asked Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, a Clinton appointee, to disqualify Halligan, arguing that she was appointed after the previous U.S. attorney’s 120-day term had lapsed.

The Justice Department countered that even if Halligan’s appointment was improper, the indictments should remain in place because the matter amounts to a “paperwork error,” according to CNN’s reporting from the courtroom.

CNN also reported that Currie observed that minutes appear to be missing from the grand jury transcript in Comey’s case after a court reporter stopped taking notes. Trials in both cases are tentatively scheduled for January, Newsweek added.

The requests are part of broader efforts by former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James to have their cases dismissed before trial. Both contend they are being prosecuted by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department — and, by extension, his appointee as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — for political reasons rather than for any actual misconduct.

At the center of Thursday’s arguments are the constitutional and statutory rules that govern how U.S. attorneys — the top federal prosecutors in Justice Department offices nationwide — are appointed. The position is normally filled through a presidential nomination followed by Senate confirmation. The attorney general may sidestep that process by appointing an interim U.S. attorney, but only for a 120-day period. Lawyers for Comey and James argue that once that window closes, federal law assigns the authority to fill the vacancy solely to the judges of that district.

They contend that did not occur in this case, Newsweek noted.

After then–interim U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned in September amid pressure from the Trump administration to bring charges against Comey and James, Attorney General Pam Bondi — acting at Trump’s public urging — appointed Lindsey Halligan to the post.

Siebert had originally been appointed by Bondi in January to serve as interim U.S. attorney. Trump announced in May that he intended to nominate Siebert for the permanent position, and after Siebert’s 120-day interim period expired, judges in the Eastern District unanimously agreed that he should remain in the role. But after the administration effectively forced him out in September, the Justice Department again installed an interim U.S. attorney rather than allowing the court to make the appointment — a move defense lawyers argue the department lacked the authority to make.

Prosecutors counter that nothing in the law expressly prohibits the Justice Department from making back-to-back interim appointments, and they maintain that even if Halligan’s appointment is found to be improper, dismissal of the indictments is not the appropriate remedy, Newsweek reported.

During Thursday’s hearing, James’ attorney Abbe Lowell argued that the government’s interpretation would allow virtually anyone — even public figures like Steve Bannon or Elon Musk — to seek an indictment from a grand jury and then be retroactively designated as a U.S. attorney, rather than the appointment preceding any prosecutorial action, the outlet added.

President Trump noted on Truth Social Sept. 20 when he appointed Halligan: “Lindsey is a tough, smart, and loyal attorney, who has worked with me for a long time, including in the winning fight against the Weaponization of our Justice System by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats, which she witnessed firsthand when she stood up for my rights during the Unconstitutional and UnAmerican raid on my home, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida. As a Partner at the biggest Law Firm in Florida, Lindsey proved herself to be a tremendous trial lawyer, and later represented me (and WON!) in the disgraceful Democrat Documents Hoax, as well as MANY other major, high profile cases.”