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Donald Trump fired Erik Siebert, US attorney for Eastern District of Virginia, after Siebert refused to prosecute James Comey and Letitia James, both political opponents of Trump.
Erik Siebert, interim U.S. Attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, speaks during a news conference, March 27, 2025. (AP)
US President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he had “fired” a federal prosecutor who was reportedly under pressure related to investigations involving two of the Republican leader’s political opponents.
This comes after Erik Siebert, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, informed his staff of his resignation in an email on Friday, according to reports from the New York Times and other US media outlets.
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Siebert had been under pressure to prosecute two of Trump’s political adversaries, former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, the Times reported.
According to the Times, some officials in the administration had argued for Siebert to keep his position.
“Today I withdrew the Nomination of Erik Siebert as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, when I was informed that he received the UNUSUALLY STRONG support of the two absolutely terrible, sleazebag Democrat Senators, from the Great State of Virginia,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“He didn’t quit, I fired him!” he added. Hours earlier in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters: “I want him out.”
According to officials cited by the Washington Post, the federal prosecutor recently informed Justice Department leaders that he would not pursue charges against Comey for allegedly lying to Congress and determined there was insufficient evidence to charge James with mortgage fraud.
Former FBI chief Comey was fired while leading a probe into whether any members of the Trump campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 presidential vote, and has been a vocal critic of the Republican president.
As New York’s state prosecutor, James filed a $464 million lawsuit against Trump, accusing him and his company of illegally inflating his assets and manipulating property values to secure favourable bank loans and insurance terms.
Like other Democratic officials, she has been accused by a close Trump ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, of falsifying documents on mortgage applications.
While speaking about the case against James on Friday, Trump said: “It looks to me like she’s really guilty of something, but I really don’t know.”
Siebert, an alumnus of the Virginia Military Institute and a former Washington police officer, headed a team of around 300 prosecutors in a jurisdiction that frequently manages high-profile national security cases.
United States of America (USA)
September 20, 2025, 17:17 IST
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