President Donald Trump is expected to fire U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert after Siebert’s office was unable to find sufficient evidence that New York Attorney General Letitia James committed mortgage fraud, ABC News reported on Thursday night.
Trump has feuded with James after the attorney general successfully sued the Trump Organization for fraud. Judge Arthur Engoron ruled against Trump, concluding that “the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers, and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.” The Trump Organization was ordered to pay $354 million, a figure that increased to north of $500 million with interest this year. Last month, however, a New York appeals court ruled the amount excessive and threw it out.
The president has reportedly been leaning on federal prosecutors to bring charges against James for alleged mortgage fraud. She has been accused of falsely claiming her house in Virginia as her primary residence despite being legally required to live in New York as an elected official there.
ABC News reported on Wednesday that Siebert, who is the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was having difficulty finding enough evidence to sustain a conviction against James. On Thursday, the outlet said Trump is expected to fire the prosecutor.
“Administration officials have told Siebert of Trump’s intention to fire him, sources familiar with the matter said,” ABC News stated. “Siebert’s last day on the job is expected to be Friday.”
Trump nominated Siebert for the job in May.
“The decision to fire Siebert could throw into crisis one of the most prominent U.S. attorney’s offices, which handles a bulk of the country’s espionage and terrorism cases, and heighten concerns about Trump’s alleged use of the DOJ to target his political adversaries,” ABC News stated.
