US Attorney to resign after Trump’s remarks calling for his removal over Letitia James investigation – reports
US attorney Erik Siebert told employees on Friday that he intends to resign, according to several reports, after President Donald Trump said he wants him “out.”
Siebert was pushed by the Trump administration to bring charges against New York attorney general Letitia James and former FBI director, James Comey, two longtime Trump rivals. Investigations failed to find clear evidence that they committed crimes.
Earlier today, Trump said, “I want him out,” referring to Siebert. The US attorney reportedly told employees about his departure at his office in Alexandria, Virginia, after these comments.
Key events
In a post on X, The New York Times’ Glenn Thrush shared an email by US Attorney Erik Siebert sent to staff, submitting his resignation.
“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,” reads the email. “Thank you for the lessons you have taught me, the sacrifices you have made, and the pursuit of justice you strive for every day.”
US Attorney to resign after Trump’s remarks calling for his removal over Letitia James investigation – reports
US attorney Erik Siebert told employees on Friday that he intends to resign, according to several reports, after President Donald Trump said he wants him “out.”
Siebert was pushed by the Trump administration to bring charges against New York attorney general Letitia James and former FBI director, James Comey, two longtime Trump rivals. Investigations failed to find clear evidence that they committed crimes.
Earlier today, Trump said, “I want him out,” referring to Siebert. The US attorney reportedly told employees about his departure at his office in Alexandria, Virginia, after these comments.
The US attorney investigating New York attorney general Letitia James was also looking into former FBI director James Comey, according to the New York Times.
Erik Siebert’s office ran into obstacles in its probe of Comey over allegations that he lied under oath.
Last week, prosecutors subpoenaed Daniel Richman, a Columbia law professor and close friend of Comey, to investigate whether Comey had authorized Richman to leak information to the media, The Times reports. Richman’s statements to prosecutors were not fruitful in their efforts to build a case against Comey.
US attorney investigating Letitia James mortgage fraud claims reportedly ousted
The US attorney whose office has been investigating mortgage fraud allegations against New York attorney general Letitia James has been told he is being removed from the position, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Friday, amid a push by Trump administration officials to bring criminal charges against the perceived adversary of the president.
The move to replace Erik Siebert, a career prosecutor in the prestigious eastern district of Virginia, was described by a person who was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. It was unclear which official told Siebert he was being removed, what reason was given or who might replace him.
The status of any leadership change remained unclear as no public announcement had been made by Friday afternoon. Spokespeople for Seibert’s office and the justice department declined to comment.
The development comes as Trump administration officials have been aggressively pursuing allegations against James arising from alleged paperwork discrepancies on her Brooklyn townhouse and a Virginia home. The justice department has spent months conducting the investigation but has yet to bring charges, and there has been no indication that prosecutors have managed to uncover any degree of incriminating evidence necessary to secure an indictment.
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Ty Cobb, a former White House attorney under Donald Trump, said that the Trump administration is undermining constitutional freedoms, especially under the First Amendment, after ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show off the air.
During an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press NOW, Cobb made historical parallels to authoritarian regimes that silenced dissent, including under dictator Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.
“In 1939, Doctor Goebbels and Hitler, as an instruction, removed five comedians—or witticists, as they were called at the time—from the airwaves in Germany for criticizing or making fun of the government and a number of satire way,” Cobb said.
“These people are abandoning our constitutional rights and our constitutional freedoms,” Cobb added. “I think this is really tragic. And I think, as Carr said yesterday, there will be more shoes to drop. I think we can count on that. This will be 3.5 more years of vengeance.”
Politico is reporting that the Treasury Department has ordered a federal advisory committee for the IRS to pause public meetings while the White House reviews the panel’s membership.
An email dated 17 September says that all 75 volunteer members of the Taxpayer Advisory Panel, which provides recommendations to the IRS on tax forms and taxpayer assistance centers based on public feedback, are undergoing the White House’s vetting process.
Two members of the panel have so far said they are stepping down because of the directive.
“I didn’t care to go through the additional vetting,” said a former panel member to Politico. “I had to be fingerprinted. I gave them, I recall, permission to review my tax returns. There was a significant amount of vetting already.”
During his remarks in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump pushed back against a UN panel that found Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
When asked about the report that was issued by the international body this week, Trump didn’t directly answer whether he believes Israel is committing genocide. Instead, he noted the atrocities committed by Hamas.
“Did anybody commit genocide on October 7? What do you think about that?” Trump asked. “That was genocide at the highest level. That was murder, genocide, you can call it whatever you want.”
A team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, issuing a report Tuesday that calls on the international community to end the genocide and act to punish those responsible for it.
Here’s more on the report:
President says attorney investigating Letitia James – the New York attorney general who prosecuted Trump – should be sacked
President Donald Trump said that he wants the US Attorney investigating New York’s attorney general, Letitia James “out.”
During his remarks in the Oval Office, Trump said, “I want him out,” referring to Erik S Siebert, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The Trump administration has pushed Siebert to seek an indictment against James, his political rival, in a probe of potential mortgage fraud.
The investigation is at a standstill because federal agents and prosecutors don’t believe they have enough evidence to get a conviction if the case were to go to trial.
On Friday, Trump criticized the fact that Siebert was approved through the Senate’s “blue slip” process, which allows senators to influence judicial appointments in their state.
“I learned that he was blue slipped through by two Democrats, senators in Virginia, people that would never vote for the people – that haven’t voted for us for probably years,” Trump said.
The president called Virginia senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner “two bad guys, bad senators, too.”
Trump signs order raising H1-B visa fee to $100,000
The Trump administration officially announced plans to raise the fee companies pay to sponsor H‑1B workers to $100,000, claiming the move will ensure only highly skilled, irreplaceable workers are brought to the US while protecting American jobs.
“I think it’s going to be a fantastic thing, and we’re going to take that money and we’re going to reduce taxes, we’re going to reduce debt,” Trump said.
Lutnick criticized the H‑1B visa program, saying it has been “abused” to bring in foreign workers who compete with American employees.
“All of the big companies are on board,” Lutnick said.
Foreigners who pay $1m to get faster visa pathway, says Trump
President Donald Trump, along with commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, unveiled a new immigration program called the “Gold Card,” which would create an expedited visa pathway for foreigners who pay $1 million to the US Treasury.
If visa holders are sponsored by a corporation, they must pay $2 million.
“Essentially, we’re having people come in, people that, in many cases, I guess, are very successful or whatever,” Trump said. “They’re going to spend a lot of money to come in. They’re going to pay, as opposed to walking over the borders.”
After a reporter asked President Donald Trump about his thoughts on cancel culture amid surging debates about free speech, the president claimed that networks gave him overwhelmingly negative coverage, citing – without evidence – that more than 90% of stories about him were “bad.”
“I think that’s really illegal,” he said.
Trump told reporters that the level of negative coverage made his election victory “a miracle” and said that the networks lack credibility with the public.
He also repeated a false claim that the Federal Communications Commission licenses US TV networks. While the FCC requires the owners of local television stations, which are often affiliated with national networks that produce programming, to obtain licenses, the FCC states on its website: “We do not license TV or radio networks (such as CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox) or other organizations that stations have relationships with, such as PBS or NPR.”
