Federal Prosecutors Fired After Refusing Trump’s Pressure to Charge His Political Adversary
In the latest showcase of President Donald Trump’s influence over the Justice Department, two veteran federal prosecutors were fired for refusing to bring criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) — further exposing how the DOJ is being weaponized for Trump’s political retaliation campaign.
Elizabeth Yusi, a longtime federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, was dismissed Friday evening, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, after she told colleagues she found “no probable cause” to indict James. Her deputy, Kristin G. Bird, was also fired.
Yusi had resisted Trump’s repeated calls for charges against James, who has led multiple civil and criminal inquiries into Trump and his business empire. Her firing came despite internal warnings that the case lacked legal merit.
Just days earlier, Lindsey Halligan — Trump’s former personal lawyer with no prosecutorial experience — secured an indictment accusing James of mortgage fraud. The case alleges she misrepresented a Norfolk, Virginia, property as a secondary residence to obtain favorable loan terms. James has called the prosecution a political hit job.
The firings follow the ouster of Erik S. Siebert, Halligan’s predecessor, who resigned under pressure after refusing to charge another of Trump’s adversaries, former FBI Director James Comey.
Halligan personally presented Comey’s case to a grand jury, obtaining an indictment alleging he lied to Congress and obstructed a congressional proceeding.
Both Comey and James have denied wrongdoing.
The Eastern District — historically one of the nation’s most respected prosecutorial offices — has been marred in recent months by dismissals and resignations tied to these politicized cases.
Among those forced out or who have left in protest: Maya Song, the former first assistant U.S. attorney; her successor, Maggie Cleary, a well-known Virginia conservative; Troy Edwards Jr., Comey’s son-in-law and a national security prosecutor; and Michael P. Ben’Ary, who was dismissed after a pro-Trump influencer falsely accused him of questioning Comey’s indictment.
The Justice Department has so far not commented on the dismissals and resignations.
Trump has made no secret of his intent to use prosecutorial power to punish opponents, blasting Attorney General Pam Bondi last month for what he viewed as inaction on her part.
“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re guilty as hell but nothing is going to be done,’” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “They impeached me twice and indicted me (five times!) OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
The Justice Department has historically operated as an independent law enforcement body — not an instrument of presidential vengeance.
The purge of Yusi, Bird, and other career prosecutors underscores a growing fear that prosecutorial independence — one of the final guardrails against executive overreach — is collapsing.