Donald Trump’s handpicked new top prosecutor has thrown her office into chaos by firing two top attorneys within days of being hired to secure a James Comey indictment.
Halligan, 36, newly installed as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, has been quick to flex her muscles by axing Maya Song and Michael Ben’Ary, sources told ABC News, as she carries out her boss’ legal wishes.
Song had been deputy to U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, who reportedly resigned two weeks earlier under presidential pressure
On Friday, Song was fired by Halligan. She had earlier accepted a demotion to line prosecutor after Siebert quit rather than bring cases against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ABC News reported.
Then, six days later, on Wednesday, Michael Ben’Ary—the chief of the U.S. attorney’s office’s national security section—was told he was fired, after a MAGA-aligned influencer blasted his past stint in Biden Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s office.
ABC News reported that it was “not immediately clear” whether Song was told why she was being removed, but it had “followed a torrent of criticism from right-wing influencers who had similarly highlighted her previous service during the Biden administration under Monaco.”
Posting on Truth Social last week, Trump demanded Microsoft oust Monaco from her newly announced role as global-affairs chief, saying she was directly involved in the prosecutions he faced post-presidency.
The Virginia dismissals have hit an office that handles the government’s most sensitive spy and terror matters, and have further sunk staff morale, according to ABC News.
The shake-up comes in the wake of the indictment of former FBI director and Trump nemesis Comey.
Comey has been charged with obstructing a congressional investigation and making false statements, accusations he denies.
Questions about Halligan’s role—and the turmoil around her—have been mounting for days. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi muscled her into the job late last month after Siebert balked at charging Trump’s foes.
Numerous other career prosecutors had questioned the evidence against Comey and objected to prosecuting what they saw as a case with little chance of success.
Yet Halligan, an insurance lawyer who once served as Trump’s personal attorney, nonetheless agreed to push it forward.
With no prosecutorial experience, she has already made several early stumbles, including a botched public statement announcing the Comey charges.
Ben’Ary had led the prosecution of Mohammad Sharifullah—accused of helping ISIS-K in the Abbey Gate bombing—and his extradition to the U.S. was trumpeted by Trump during a joint address to Congress earlier this year.
CNN reported that Ben’Ary had not been involved in the Comey case.
Congressional Democrats have launched an inquiry into Siebert’s ouster, citing the politicization of the Justice Department, according to ABC News.
A DOJ spokeswoman defended Halligan to the Daily Beast.
“Lindsey Halligan is an outstanding attorney who is working tirelessly to hold criminals accountable and uphold the rule of law. She is fully supported by the AG, DAG, and the entire team at Main Justice, and we are confident in her ability to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in a way that’s just and keeps Virginians safe. The Department does not discuss personnel matters,” she said.
The Daily Beast has also contacted the White House for comment.
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