ABC News has learned that President Donald Trump is expected to fire a top federal prosecutor after he declined to file charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Friday that he wants his handpicked U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia “out” of the job.
According to sources, Trump is preparing to dismiss U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert after investigators found no evidence of mortgage fraud by James.
“I want him out,” Trump told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, referencing that Virginia’s two Democratic senators had supported Siebert’s nomination. Siebert was nominated in May and has served as interim U.S. attorney since Trump’s inauguration.
Trump officials pressed federal prosecutors to bring charges against NY AG Letitia James: Sources
“When I saw that he got approved by those two men, I said, pull it, because he can’t be any good,” Trump said. “When I learned that they voted for him, I said, I don’t really want him.”
After Siebert declined to pursue an indictment, Trump decided to fire him, sources told ABC News.
“It looks to me like [James] is very guilty of something, but I really don’t know,” Trump said during the Oval Office exchange.
Federal prosecutors in Virginia reportedly found no clear evidence that James knowingly committed mortgage fraud during her 2023 home purchase, yet Trump officials pushed Siebert to bring criminal charges anyway, sources said.
While plans could still change, Siebert was notified Thursday of Trump’s intent to remove him and was told that Friday would be his final day, sources said.
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for James, condemned the anticipated firing as a “brazen attack on the rule of law.”
“Firing people until he finds someone who will bend the law to carry out his revenge has been the President’s pattern—and it’s illegal,” Lowell said. “Punishing this prosecutor, a Trump appointee, for doing his job sends a chilling message that anyone who upholds the law over politics will face the same fate.”
The expected departure of Siebert, nominated in May, has reportedly thrown the office into disarray, with no successor immediately identified, sources said. Maya Song, the office’s First Assistant U.S. Attorney, is next in line, though senior officials have discussed removing her from her role. Song, a career prosecutor since 2013, has served as the office’s No. 2 since last October and previously worked in former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s office.
President Trump has repeatedly accused Monaco, without evidence, of influencing the federal prosecutions brought against him by then-special counsel Jack Smith, which were dismissed due to DOJ policy barring prosecution of a sitting president.
DOJ officials told ABC News that career prosecutors expressed alarm over the potential fallout from Siebert’s firing, including the risk of resignations, as the office handles a large portion of national security cases.
The White House has not commented on Siebert’s employment status.
Removing Siebert for declining to charge a political rival would mark an escalation in what critics call a retribution campaign, with ongoing investigations also targeting Sen. Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Trump has repeatedly criticized James—who successfully pursued a civil fraud case against him last year and oversees multiple lawsuits challenging his administration’s policies—as politically motivated and “corrupt.”
Following a three-month trial, a New York judge found that Trump and his family committed a decade of business fraud, inflating property values to secure favorable loans, with fines initially totaling nearly half a billion dollars. An appeals court later overturned the financial penalty but upheld the fraud findings.
Trump administration officials allege James committed mortgage fraud because a 2023 home purchase document incorrectly listed the property as her primary residence. The investigation began after Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, sent the DOJ a criminal referral in April.
“I believe this is riddled with mortgage fraud,” Pulte told Fox News. “She was the fraudster, not President Trump.”
Investigators, however, determined that the document—a limited power of attorney signed by James’ niece—was never considered by the loan officers approving the mortgage, sources said.
A former D.C. police officer, Siebert graduated law school in 2009 and has served in the Eastern District of Virginia since 2010, including leading the organized drug crime task force and supervising the Richmond division from 2019 to 2024.
Siebert became interim U.S. attorney on Jan. 21 after Jessica Aber resigned following Trump’s inauguration. Both Virginia Democratic senators recommended Siebert in April, and Trump nominated him in May.
“Mr. Siebert has dedicated his career to protecting public safety,” Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said in May, praising his experience handling violent crimes and firearms trafficking.
The Eastern District of Virginia serves over six million people with a 300-member staff and is known for its fast-moving trial court, frequently handling significant terrorism and intelligence cases due to its proximity to Washington.
After his 120-day interim term expired in May, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District unanimously extended Siebert’s tenure.
