President Donald Trump plans to fire a top prosecutor after he refused to bring charges against one of Trump’s leading political enemies due to a lack of evidence in the case.
The president’s federal housing director asked the Department of Justice in April to investigate New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud.
The administration claimed James—who successfully sued the Trump Organization for fraud last year and is leading multiple lawsuits challenging the president’s policies—had declared a second home in Virginia as her primary residence to get more favorable loan terms.
But so far, investigators have determined that James only listed the home as a primary residence on a limited power of attorney form that allowed her niece—who was her co-purchaser—to sign documents on her behalf, ABC News reported.
The loan officers who approved the mortgage never considered the document, sources told the outlet, but the Trump administration nevertheless demanded that the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, bring criminal charges against her, according to ABC.
After Siebert refused, officials told him that Trump plans to fire him, potentially plunging one of the nation’s most prominent U.S attorney offices into crisis.
The Eastern District of Virginia handles most of the country’s espionage and terrorism cases because it’s so close to Washington, with multiple government offices falling within its jurisdiction.
Siebert, whose last day is expected to be Friday, has worked as an assistant district attorney since 2010 and has served as interim U.S. attorney since January.
His original interim tenure expired in May, but Trump himself nominated Siebert in May to fill the position on a long-term basis, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia unanimously agreed to keep him in the role until the Senate confirms a nominee.
The administration plans to replace him with someone who will more aggressively investigate James, sources told ABC.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House, the Department of Justice, and James for comment.
The New York attorney general has been a frequent target of Trump, who, in April, celebrated the news of the mortgage fraud investigation.
“Letitia James, a totally corrupt politician, should resign from her position as New York State Attorney General, IMMEDIATELY,” he wrote on Truth Social at the time. “Everyone is trying to MAKE NEW YORK GREAT AGAIN, and it can never be done with this wacky crook in office.”
The DOJ is also investigating James for “deprivation of rights,” a crime that involves a government official violating someone’s constitutional rights in an official capacity. The president stripped James of her security clearance in February.
Last month, her attorney Abbe David Lowell told the Daily Beast that the probes against James represented “the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign.”
The administration has also targeted Sen. Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook with similar mortgage fraud claims, despite evidence to the contrary.
The irony is that loan fraud was also at the heart of James’ case against President Trump and his sons, Don Jr. and Eric Trump.
The court found that for years the Trump Organization had committed fraud by over-inflating the values of its properties to secure better loan terms. The judge ordered Trump to pay $364 million plus interest dating back years, a total that has since ballooned to about $527 million.
In August, an appeals court threw out the fine, calling it “excessive,” but kept the ruling of fraud in place.
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