U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned Friday amid pressure from the Trump administration to file a criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James. Siebert, who led the Eastern District of Virginia office, informed his staff in an email that he was stepping down but planned to continue working as a line prosecutor.
Erik Siebert was reportedly informed Thursday that President Trump intended to fire him. Trump publicly stated he wanted Siebert removed because Virginia’s two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, had supported his nomination. Trump criticized this approval as a reason to withdraw support for Siebert.
The resignation follows an investigation into James, initiated by a referral alleging she falsified documents related to a 2023 home purchase. After five months and multiple interviews, prosecutors found no clear evidence to charge James. Despite this, Trump officials pressured Siebert to bring charges, which Siebert resisted.
James has denied any wrongdoing and called Erik Siebert removal a “brazen attack on the rule of law.” Her lawyer accused Trump of punishing officials who uphold the law rather than bow to political pressures.
Erik Siebert Resigns
Erik Siebert departure leaves one of the country’s key U.S. attorney offices without permanent leadership, complicated further by the recent exit of his deputy. It remains unclear who will now oversee the office’s operations or prosecutions.
This event is part of a broader pattern critics say is a retaliation campaign by Trump targeting political enemies, including ongoing probes involving Senator Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
A former D.C. police officer and longtime prosecutor, Siebert has served as interim U.S. attorney since Trump’s inauguration, having been nominated in May with bipartisan backing. His legal career includes leading efforts against violent crime and drug trafficking in Virginia.
Trump continues to attack James, who successfully led a civil fraud case against him last year related to business practices, describing her as politically biased and intent on targeting him. Following that trial, a judge ruled Trump engaged in a decade of fraud, though some penalties were later overturned on appeal.
