VA U.S. Attorney Resigns Amid Trump Pressure For Prosecuting NY Legal Chief

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia is resigning after President Donald Trump's request to find evidence to prosecute a New York official.

Erik S. Siebert, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, officially resigned on Friday, according to the Washington Post. The news outlet said Siebert indicated there was not enough evidence in for prosecution of mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James. In addition, Siebert did not want to pursue a case against former FBI director James Comey.

Trump said on Truth Social that he withdraw Siebert's nomination.

"He didn’t quit, I fired him!" the president wrote.

Reuters reported that Trump is nominating White House aide Lindsey Halligan as the new U.S. attorney. Halligan was part of Trump's legal team during the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago for classified.Reports indicated that Mary "Maggie" Cleary, a conservative U.S. Justice Department lawyer, would serve as the interim U.S. attorney.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Alexandria), who represents Alexandria where one of the federal courts is located, blasted the forced resigning of Siebert.

"Donald Trump hates the rule of law and is making all of us less safe by firing seasoned professionals, to replace them with goons and yes men who will bend the law to his whim. This is corrupt as hell," Beyer said in a statement.

Siebert had become interim U.S. attorney in January after Jessica Aber resigned her post when Trump took office. Aber was found dead in March in her Alexandria home. Siebert had been with the Eastern District of Virginia since 2010 and was previously a Metropolitan Police Department officer. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine had supported Siebert's nomination. Siebert had announced a high-profile arrest of an accused top MS-13 leader in March with Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.

The Eastern District of Virginia covers Northern Virginia, the Richmond metro area and Hampton Roads, with courts in Alexandria, Richmond, Newport News and Norfolk. No official statement on the leadership change has been shared by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia's office.