The US attorney investigating mortgage fraud allegations against New York state Attorney General Letitia James didn’t resign, he was fired, President Trump declared on Truth Social.
Erik Siebert, the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, told staff he resigned Friday amid reports he was facing pressure from the Trump administration over the James probe, which has yet to result in criminal charges.
“Today I withdrew the Nomination of Erik Siebert as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, when I was informed that he received the UNUSUALLY STRONG support of the two absolutely terrible, sleazebag Democrat Senators, from the Great State of Virginia,” Trump posted on Truth Social, just after midnight Saturday.
“He didn’t quit, I fired him!” the president asserted.
“Next time let him go in as a Democrat, not a Republican,” Trump added. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Siebert, whom Trump nominated in May, had yet to be confirmed by the Senate. He announced his resignation after the president made clear he no longer wanted the prosecutor around.
“I want him out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Friday afternoon.
Trump said he changed his mind on nominating Siebert after he learned that Virginia’s two Democratic senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, had expressed support for him.
“I have other people, judges, and I have US attorneys for other states where I have the same situation. And they can’t get approved. So when I learned that they voted for him, I said, ‘I don’t really want him.’”
Siebert emailed his team in the Eastern District – after Trump’s Oval Office remarks – that he had turned in his resignation paperwork, according to multiple outlets.
“This evening, I submitted my resignation as Interim U.S. Attorney for [Eastern District of Virginia],” Siebert wrote. “For the last eight months, I have had the pleasure of leading the finest and most exceptional of DOJ employees who care deeply about our nation and our EDVA community.”
“Thank you for the lessons you have taught me, the sacrifices you have made, and the pursuit of justice you strive for every day,” he added.
In April, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte requested that the FBI open an investigation into James over allegations of mortgage fraud.
Pulte alleged James “falsified records” to obtain favorable loans on a home she purchased in 2023 in Virginia and a Brooklyn brownstone she’s owned since 2001.
James allegedly indicated the Norfolk, Va. home would be her “principal residence” while acting as state attorney general.
She has dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and “part of a “revenge tour” by Trump because she brought civil fraud charges against him and his company, the Trump Organization.
Siebert had been weighing potential charges against James and was due to meet Monday with Justice Department Special Attorney Ed Martin to discuss the status of the case, a source familiar told The Post.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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