President Donald Trump said he wants the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia removed, after investigators reportedly failed to find sufficient evidence to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.
Trump told reporters on Friday he supports the removal of Erik Siebert from his U.S. attorney position in response to a question about the investigation into James’ Virginia home. The president pointed to endorsements from Virginia Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to justify the firing.
“Yeah, I want him out,” Trump said in response to a question about firing Siebert.
“When I saw that he got approved by those two men, I said ‘pull it.’ Because he can’t be any good,” Trump added.
ABC News first reported earlier Friday that Trump is expected to fire Siebert after he failed to provide conclusive evidence demonstrating James committed mortgage fraud. POLITICO has not independently verified the contours of the investigation.
Trump claimed in the Oval Office Friday that he was not closely following the investigation into James, but said it looks like she “is very guilty of something.”
Siebert was appointed to his role in May, after serving as the interim U.S. attorney since January.
The Department of Justice launched an investigation earlier this year into whether James made knowingly false statements when she applied for home loans for properties in New York or Virginia. The probe was recommended by Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, a close Trump ally who has launched similar probes against other Trump political targets.
Trump’s vendetta against James dates to the civil suit she pursued against the Trump organization, in which a New York judge found Trump and his two sons liable for fraud.
Throughout his second term, Trump has dismissed several U.S. attorneys and DOJ personnel, continuing his norm-breaking effort to reshape DOJ to carry out his political agenda.
