New York (BN24) – U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned Friday under pressure from the Trump administration after sources said he resisted demands to bring criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, despite investigators finding no clear evidence of wrongdoing.
Siebert, who led the Eastern District of Virginia since January, informed his staff of his resignation in an email obtained by ABC News. In it, he praised the prosecutors he had worked with over the past eight months, calling them “the finest and most exceptional of DOJ employees.”
The decision came one day after President Donald Trump signaled his intention to remove Siebert from his position. On Friday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he wanted Siebert “out,” citing the support Siebert had received from Virginia’s two Democratic senators during his nomination.
“It looks to me like she is very guilty of something, but I really don’t know,” Trump said of James, repeating his long-running accusations that she has unfairly targeted him.
According to sources, Siebert’s office investigated allegations that James falsified records related to her 2023 home purchase in Virginia. But after five months of work, including interviews with 15 witnesses, investigators found no evidence to substantiate the claim. Trump officials nevertheless pressed Siebert to pursue charges.
James, who brought a successful civil fraud case against Trump last year, denied wrongdoing. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, called Siebert’s forced resignation a “brazen attack on the rule of law,” warning that it sends a chilling message to prosecutors who refuse to bend to political pressure.
Siebert, a career prosecutor and former Washington, D.C., police officer, said he intends to remain at the U.S. attorney’s office as a line prosecutor, though it is unclear whether he will be allowed to return to his prior role. His departure leaves a leadership vacuum in one of the nation’s most prominent prosecutorial districts.
The removal marks another escalation in what critics describe as Trump’s retribution campaign against political opponents. Along with James, federal officials under Trump have also launched inquiries targeting Sen. Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
James has repeatedly clashed with Trump, calling him a fraudster and leading lawsuits against his policies. A New York judge ruled last year that Trump and his family committed business fraud by inflating property values for favorable loan terms, a finding upheld on appeal even after the financial penalties were reduced.
Siebert’s resignation underscores growing tensions between career prosecutors and political leadership within the Justice Department, raising questions about the independence of federal law enforcement under Trump’s administration.
