In a dramatic move that has reignited concerns over political interference in the Justice Department, President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he “fired” a federal prosecutor, publicly contradicting earlier reports that the official had resigned.
Erik Siebert, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, reportedly informed his staff of his resignation on Friday. However, the president took to his Truth Social platform to declare, “He didn’t quit, I fired him!” Hours earlier, he had told reporters in the Oval Office, “I want him out.”
The termination follows reports that Siebert had been under pressure from the administration to pursue charges against two of Trump’s prominent political opponents. According to officials cited by The Washington Post, Siebert had recently informed Justice Department leaders that he would not pursue charges against former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress and had determined there was insufficient evidence to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.
On his Truth Social post, Trump justified the firing by citing the “UNUSUALLY STRONG support” Siebert received from “absolutely terrible, sleazebag Democrat Senators” from Virginia. He also weighed in on the case against James, saying, “It looks to me like she’s really guilty of something, but I really don’t know.”
The two individuals at the center of the controversy have a long history of conflict with Trump. Comey was fired by the president in 2017 while leading an investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign, and has been a vocal critic. Meanwhile, James filed a $464 million lawsuit against Trump and his company, accusing them of illegally inflating assets. Siebert, a former police officer and head of a team of 300 prosecutors, oversaw a key jurisdiction that frequently handles high-profile national security cases.