On Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced that he had “fired” a federal prosecutor who was allegedly under pressure regarding investigations into two of his political opponents.
Erik Siebert, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, informed his staff of his resignation through an email on Friday, as reported by the New York Times and other US media outlets.
According to the Times, Siebert had been facing pressure to take action against two of Trump’s political rivals: former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump dismissed in 2017, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Some officials within the administration had advocated for Siebert to retain his position, the Times noted.
“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 stated on his Truth Social platform.
“He didn’t quit, I fired him!” he emphasized.
Hours earlier in the Oval Office, Trump expressed to reporters: “I want him out.”
The federal prosecutor had recently informed Justice Department leadership that he would not be pursuing charges against Comey for allegedly lying to Congress, and that there was not enough evidence to accuse James of mortgage fraud, according to officials familiar with the situation who spoke to the Washington Post.
Former FBI director Comey was dismissed while overseeing an investigation into whether any members of the Trump campaign had conspired with Moscow to influence the 2016 presidential election, and he has been a strong critic of the Republican president.
As New York’s state prosecutor, James initiated a $464 million lawsuit against Trump, claiming that he and his company had illegally inflated his wealth and manipulated property values to secure favorable bank loans or insurance rates.
She, along with several other Democratic officials, has faced accusations from a close Trump associate, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, of falsifying documents related to mortgage applications.
When asked about the case involving James on Friday, Trump remarked: “It seems to me that she’s definitely guilty of something, but I can’t say for sure.”
Siebert, who graduated from the Virginia Military Institute and previously served as a Washington police officer, headed a team of around 300 prosecutors in a jurisdiction that frequently deals with significant cases concerning national security.
