By
Scott MacFarlane
Scott MacFarlane
Justice Correspondent
Scott MacFarlane is CBS News’ Justice correspondent. He has covered Washington for two decades, earning 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards. His reporting has resulted directly in the passage of five new laws.
September 26, 2025 / 7:17 AM EDT
/ CBS News
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are launching a review Friday of the ouster of federal prosecutor Erik Siebert, a week after he resigned as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and a day after Siebert’s replacement signed an indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. Prosecutors had expressed concern about Siebert’s possible ouster over his failure to bring a case against another Trump adversary, New York Attorney General Letitia James.
President Trump, in a social media post after Siebert’s departure from the office, had pressed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about prosecutions against political foes including Comey, James and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, calling them “guilty as hell.”
Mr. Trump praised one of his own former defense lawyers, Lindsey Halligan, calling her “a really good lawyer,” and told Bondi in the post, “We can’t delay any longer.”
Halligan was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia on Monday, replacing Siebert in the office. She has no prior experience as a prosecutor.
Three days after Halligan took over the key prosecutorial role, Comey was indicted on two counts — one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice, related to Senate testimony he gave almost five years ago. The indictment bears Halligan’s signature alone. Comey denies wrongdoing.
In a letter sent Friday to Bondi, House Judiciary Committee Democrats requested copies of Siebert’s performance evaluations, and they’re seeking records that would show any backchannel communication between the White House and Justice Department officials over the Comey matter.
The letter from the panel’s Democrats requests “all communications between any official or employee at the Justice Department and any official or employee at the White House, including President Trump, regarding prosecution referrals to the Justice Department involving current or former public officials, including but not limited to Letitia James, James Comey, Senator Adam Schiff, and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, from January 20, 2025, to the present.”
Before she became an interim U.S. attorney, Halligan was a Trump White House aide who was also his defense lawyer.
Committee Democrats are also requesting records about Halligan. Their letter to the Justice Department asks for “All documents regarding the selection and appointment of Lindsey Halligan as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, including her application materials, any vetting documents, any communications about her qualifications, and any promises or commitments she may have made to the White House or the Justice Department regarding prosecuting any specific individuals.”
Because they’re in the minority and lack congressional subpoena authority, Democrats’ requests for documents are not likely to be granted by the Trump administration. But their letter presents them with the opportunity to register their dismay with the administration’s actions.
In the letter to Bondi, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin wrote, “President Trump — with you as a willing partner — is obliterating centuries of prosecutorial independence and steering the Justice Department into dangerous new territory.”
Mr. Trump had expressed his displeasure with Siebert, saying Friday: “I want him out.”
The president criticized Siebert because he had the support of both of Virginia’s Democratic senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.
A U.S. attorney nominee requires the backing of the two senators who represent the state to advance through the Senate Judiciary Committee. It seems unlikely Kaine and Warner would support Halligan. Both senators told the Washington Post they’d review her nomination, but Kaine said that neither of them has backed a U.S. attorney nominee who lacks prosecutorial or Justice Department experience.
Scott MacFarlane is CBS News’ Justice correspondent. He has covered Washington for two decades, earning 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards. His reporting has resulted directly in the passage of five new laws.
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