According to a report by ABC News, President Trump is expected to fire the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The report follows U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert’s office being unable to find sufficient evidence that New York Attorney General Letitia James committed mortgage fraud.

James faces accusations of falsely claiming her house in Virginia as her primary residence.

She is legally required to live in New York being an elected public servant there.

“Pres. Trump is expected to dismiss the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after a five-month investigation failed to uncover evidence of mortgage fraud involving New York AG Letitia James,” Good Morning America wrote.

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More from ABC News:

Administration officials have told Siebert of Trump’s intention to fire him, sources familiar with the matter said. Siebert’s last day on the job is expected to be Friday.

Abbe Lowell, an attorney for James, called the expected firing 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 Friday in a statement to ABC News. “Punishing this prosecutor, a Trump appointee, for doing his job sends a clear and chilling message that anyone who dares uphold the law over politics will face the same fate.”

Trump appointed Siebert for the position in May.

ABC News claims sources said the Trump administration will find someone for the position who will investigate James more aggressively. 

Last month, a New York appeals court tossed a roughly $500 million civil fraud penalty against Trump brought by James.

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The Hill explained:

In a deeply divided decision, the court upheld a lower court’s finding that Trump, his eldest sons and another executive conspired to alter his net worth for tax and insurance benefits.

However, the eye-popping financial penalty against the president and his business will not stand, with the judges saying it amounts to an unconstitutional excessive fine. The ruling enables the case to move toward New York’s top court.

The case, brought in 2022, made James one of the president’s most prominent adversaries, as it threatened his billionaire status and the future of the business that built his fame — and paved his path to the White House.

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A bench trial culminated in a $464 million judgment against Trump and his business, plus interest that has mounted every day. The total had reached more than $527 million, including interest, as of Thursday.

Beyond the agreement that the fine must be tossed, the decision was deeply split. Two judges said Judge Arthur Engoron’s findings at the trial level were justified, another two wanted to order a new trial while the fifth judge voted to dismiss the case outright.

 

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