Erik Siebert, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned his post on September 19, 2025, after months of mounting political pressure and a very public call for his ouster from President Trump. The move marked the abrupt end of a turbulent tenure for Siebert, whose office had been investigating high-profile mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James, as well as claims against former FBI Director James B. Comey. The episode has sparked renewed debate over the independence of federal prosecutors and the boundaries of presidential influence on the Justice Department.
Siebert’s resignation was announced in a somber email to his staff Friday evening, a copy of which was obtained by multiple news outlets, including CBS News and The New York Times. “This evening, I submitted my resignation as Interim U.S. Attorney for EDVA,” Siebert wrote. “For the last eight months, I have had the pleasure of leading the finest and most exceptional of DOJ employees who care deeply about our nation and our EDVA community. Thank you for the lessons you have taught me, the sacrifices you have made, and the pursuit of justice you strive for every day.”
The resignation followed a day of swirling speculation and internal drama. According to The New York Times, Siebert had recently told senior Justice Department officials that investigators found insufficient evidence to bring charges against Letitia James. He had also raised concerns about the viability of a case against James Comey, who was under investigation for allegedly lying under oath. These developments reportedly frustrated some in the Trump administration and among its allies, who had been pushing for more aggressive action.
The pressure on Siebert reached a boiling point after President Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, declared, “Yeah, I want him out.” Trump cited Siebert’s support from Virginia’s two Democratic Senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, as a reason for his change of heart regarding his own nominee. “When I saw that he got two senators, two gentlemen that are bad news, as far as I’m concerned, when I saw that he got approved by these two men, I said, ‘pull him,’ because he can’t be any good,” Trump told reporters, according to AP and CBS News.
Siebert’s nomination had been pending in the Senate since May, and just last week, the Senate had moved to add a vote on his confirmation to its calendar. But Trump’s public statements made it clear that Siebert’s days were numbered, regardless of the outcome in the Senate. “I want him out,” Trump said, doubling down on his stance.
The investigation that placed Siebert in the crosshairs began in April 2025, when William Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. In the letter, Pulte alleged that Letitia James had "in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms" on a home in Virginia and a Brooklyn brownstone. Pulte’s referral was quickly seized upon by Trump allies, who urged federal prosecutors to pursue criminal charges against James, a prominent Trump adversary.
James, for her part, dismissed the allegations as "baseless" and described the investigation as "nothing more than a revenge tour" orchestrated by Trump in retaliation for her successful civil fraud case against him and the Trump Organization. In that earlier case, James had prevailed, with Trump ordered to pay hundreds of millions in restitution, though a New York appellate court later vacated the fine. Speaking to NY1, James reiterated her belief that the federal probe was politically motivated.
Behind the scenes, the Justice Department was reportedly divided over how to proceed. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche both defended Siebert internally, according to The New York Times, arguing that he had followed the facts and the law in declining to move forward with charges against James. But William Pulte, whose influence with Trump had grown, continued to press for Siebert’s removal and replacement with someone more willing to pursue the case. According to one senior law enforcement official, Pulte had told Trump directly that Siebert "could be doing more." The internal debate became so heated that, on Friday, Siebert told a group of prosecutors he was considering resigning, and that his first assistant, Maya D. Song, had been demoted.
The investigation into James was not the only politically charged case on Siebert’s desk. His office had also recently subpoenaed Daniel C. Richman, a Columbia law professor and close friend of James Comey, as part of an inquiry into whether Comey had lied about authorizing leaks to the press. But, as The New York Times reported, Richman’s statements did little to bolster the case, and officials familiar with the matter said prosecutors had hit a roadblock.
Siebert’s removal sent shockwaves through the Eastern District of Virginia, one of the nation’s most powerful federal prosecutor’s offices, with a portfolio that includes terrorism, white-collar crime, and corruption cases. Siebert, a respected career prosecutor who had worked his way up through the ranks over 15 years, was well regarded by many in the department and on Capitol Hill. Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was among those who had expressed support for Siebert, according to The New York Times.
Critics of Trump’s move have pointed to a broader pattern of the administration using the Justice Department to settle political scores. Abbe D. Lowell, a lawyer for Letitia James, called Siebert’s ouster "a brazen attack on the rule of law." Lowell told The New York Times, "The prosecutor did exactly what justice required by following the facts and the evidence, which didn’t support charges against Attorney General James. Firing people until he finds someone who will bend the law to carry out his revenge has been President Trump’s pattern — and it’s illegal."
The Justice Department has not commented publicly on Siebert’s resignation or on the status of the investigations. An all-staff meeting was held in the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday, but no further terminations were announced, according to CBS News.
For now, the future of the mortgage fraud probe against Letitia James remains uncertain, as does the fate of the investigations into James Comey and other Trump adversaries. What is clear is that Siebert’s resignation has intensified the debate over the proper role of politics in federal law enforcement and the independence of the Justice Department at a time when those principles are being tested as never before.
