White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t just lose her cool on Monday — she appeared to pick her moment.
In a space already buzzing after a federal judge obliterated two of the administration’s high-profile indictments, Leavitt spun toward a reporter, snapped mid-question, and instantly set off a wave of concerns that her outburst wasn’t random at all.
The brief dustup unfolded in the press pool as reporters pressed Leavitt on the fallout from U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie’s dismissal of the cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Ryan, a veteran journalist, shouted a question after the ruling erased the indictments brought by former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, whose recent appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to bring the cases was deemed unlawful.
“Is the president more determined to go after Letitia James and James Comey?” Ryan called out, speaking over the cross-talk. Her question prompted Leavitt to turn toward her, look away, then glance back, prompting Ryan to repeat her question.
“Excuse me, I’m answering a question,” Leavitt said abruptly.
“But you turned and looked at me,” Ryan shot back.
“I looked at you because you’re yelling.”
“That’s right! That’s what we do as reporters,” Ryan replied.
Karoline Leavitt deals with an extremely loud reporter shouting questions about “Tish James”:
“Excuse me, I’m answering a question.”
“Butchu turned and looked at me!”
“I looked at you because you’re yelling.”
“That’s right! That’s what we do!”
pic.twitter.com/tbbaHd6aV3
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) November 24, 2025
Video footage of the moment quickly went viral on X, where commenters called out Leavitt.
“Awe…did that make poor KKkaroline mad ??” mocked one X user.
“She’s getting a bit too big for her boots,” observed one viewer while another wrote, “One day, such arrogance will come to an end”
Leavitt’s response was lauded by many right-wing viewers, causing some viewers to note, “Trumpies never skip an opportunity to be rude to a person of color.”
Ryan had a comeback ready too. “You’re so ghetto, big mouth, interrupting, entitled and frankly, ridiculous and unprofessional,” one critic wrote on Ryan’s video post. “Sorry am not ghetto but you are very ignorant!” she wrote right back.
Others expressed support for Ryan.
“Great Job, April! Don’t let this incompetent administration and its low IQ followers deter you from actually asking questions that ppl want to know. This dumpster fire is burning as we speak, can’t wait for it to be over.”
After huffing at Ryan, Leavitt took a question about the Ukraine War before turning back to Ryan, who stood ready: “So Karoline, is the president more determined now since the judge’s ruling today to go after James Comey and Tish James, and if so why.”
“I wouldn’t say he’s going after them,” Leavitt responded. “I think the president is more determined than ever to see accountability in this country, yes, and to correct the wrongs of the weaponization of our justice system that we saw under the previous administration of Joe Biden.”
The exchange came hours after Judge Currie voided both indictments, ruling that Halligan — appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia at President Donald Trump’s direction — “had no lawful authority to present the indictment.”
“Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment,” Currie wrote.
She held that “All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside,” describing Halligan as “a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience.”
A second opinion dismissed the indictment against James. “This case presents the unique, if not unprecedented, situation where an unconstitutionally appointed prosecutor, ‘exercising power [she] did not lawfully possess,’… acted alone in conducting a grand jury proceeding and securing an indictment,” Currie wrote.
Because Halligan was the sole prosecutor presenting and signing the cases, the court voided both indictments. The Justice Department said it would pursue “all available legal action, including an immediate appeal,” according to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who also defended Halligan as “an excellent” attorney.
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Though the dismissals were issued “without prejudice,” Comey’s attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the statute of limitations now blocks any refiling. The Justice Department countered that U.S. Code 3288 allows six months to re-indict, a claim Comey’s team disputes on the grounds that Halligan never had authority to file the original charges — a view the judge agreed with.
Legal experts say overturning Currie’s ruling will be difficult. Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond told NBC News, “I think the government will do whatever it can to overturn this, but I don’t see how that’s going to happen.”