US Attorney Erik Siebert told his staff Friday he will be stepping down, according to a person familiar with the matter, after facing intense pressure from President Donald Trump to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.
It’s not clear when his resignation will take effect. Trump said earlier Friday that Siebert, the US attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, should lose his job.
“Yeah, I want him out, yeah,” Trump said in response to a question about firing Siebert, adding he also disliked that Virginia’s two Democratic senators had approved him as part of a Senate custom. “When I learned that they voted for him, I said, I don’t really want him.”
Two sources familiar with the issue said earlier Friday that Trump intended to fire Siebert.
Trump asserted early Saturday on social media that he withdrew Siebert’s nomination. “He didn’t quit, I fired him! Next time let him go in as a Democrat, not a Republican,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Friday evening, Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, in a joint statement, pushed back against Trump, saying that not only were Republicans involved in interviewing Siebert – Trump’s White House nominated him for the position.
“In April, after an extensive interview process that included the input of a bipartisan panel of former Virginia U.S. attorneys and other well-respected members of the Virginia legal community, Warner and Kaine sent a letter to the White House recommending Siebert for the U.S. attorney position. In May, the White House announced that Siebert was formally nominated for the role,” Warner and Kaine said.
Warner and Kaine added, “Erik Siebert is an ethical prosecutor who refused to bring criminal charges against Trump’s perceived enemies when the facts wouldn’t support it. The Eastern District of Virginia is at the forefront of significant cases essential to our national security, and just like any court in America, should be focused on justice instead of a thin-skinned president’s vendettas.”
James, who won a business fraud case against Trump and his company, has been a target of the president ever since. Trump has privately and angrily complained about James even months into taking office, multiple sources familiar with the conversations told CNN.
CNN previously reported that Justice Department prosecutors in Virginia believed they have not gathered enough evidence to indict James.
A source briefed on the internal conversations said Siebert and his office have been bracing for this possibility as the administration has ramped up the political pressure in recent weeks.
“He wanted to be a team player, but also follow the law,” one person said.
Siebert’s office did not immediately return a request for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment on CNN’s earlier reporting.
Siebert was nominated to the position by Trump in May. He had been serving as the interim US attorney since January.
Like many others who were appointed to the position of US attorney during the second Trump administration, Siebert received an extension from the court to serve indefinitely while awaiting confirmation from the Senate.
As the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Siebert oversees a staff of approximately 300 people. He is responsible for four divisions in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News.
He started at the Eastern District of Virginia in 2010 as an assistant US attorney. During his time as a prosecutor, he handled a wide variety of cases, including violent crime, public corruption and illegal immigration. During his years as a prosecutor, he also served as the lead task force attorney for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and the deputy criminal supervisor for the Richmond Division.
Siebert has received multiple awards during his nearly 15 years of being a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Prior to becoming a prosecutor, Siebert spent time as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC. He is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, and he received his JD from the University of Richmond Law School.
This story and headline have been updated with additional reporting.
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