US attorney who refused to indict Letitia James for mortgage fraud resigns amid Trump criticism

The acting U.S. Attorney who refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud quietly resigned late Friday amid growing criticism from President Donald Trump.

Former acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) Erik S. Siebert announced his resignation in an email sent on Friday to his colleagues.

“This evening, I submitted my resignation as Interim US Attorney for EDVA,” he 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.”

Erik Siebert has submitted his resignation per staff email pic.twitter.com/VaApmO1W1f

— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) September 19, 2025

His resignation came after mounting criticism from the president over Siebert’s refusal to indict James despite the clear-cut evidence.

“Yeah, I want him out, yeah,” the president said when asked in the Oval Office earlier Friday about Siebert.

He proceeded to add that he didn’t like the fact that Siebert’s position as acting attorney had been approved by two Democratic senators.

“When I saw that he got approved by those two men, I said pull it, because he can’t be any good,”  he explained.

This is President Trump earlier today, talking about now former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert. I’ll admit, I took a little personal pleasure because Siebert refused to end the Russiagate witch hunt, but even setting that aside, this is one of my favorite Trump clips ever. pic.twitter.com/rsQY2Q64xT

— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) September 20, 2025

The two Democratic senators Trump had mentioned, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, fired back in a joint statement Friday evening, claiming Siebert had also been approved by Republicans, according to CNN.

“In April, after an extensive interview process that included the input of a bipartisan panel of former Virginia U.S. attorneys and other well-respected members of the Virginia legal community, Warner and Kaine sent a letter to the White House recommending Siebert for the U.S. attorney position,” they wrote. “In May, the White House announced that Siebert was formally nominated for the role.”

“Erik Siebert is an ethical prosecutor who refused to bring criminal charges against Trump’s perceived enemies when the facts wouldn’t support it. The Eastern District of Virginia is at the forefront of significant cases essential to our national security, and just like any court in America, should be focused on justice instead of a thin-skinned president’s vendettas,” they added.

After word of Siebert’s voluntary resignation broke, the president published a post to his social media network, Truth Social, claiming that the former U.S. Attorney had been fired.

“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 wrote.

“He didn’t quit, I fired him! Next time let him go in as a Democrat, not a Republican. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT,” he added.

pic.twitter.com/V3mS2BQ1vg

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 20, 2025

All this comes after the Trump administration recently referred James to the Justice Department because of accusations of mortgage fraud.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) specifically accused her of claiming that a 5-unit property in Brooklyn that she owns had just four units instead of five. She allegedly did this in order to get a better loan, including a Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) loan.

Letitia James committed mortgage fraud when she falsely claimed financial hardship to get a 2.7% government HAMP refinance loan in 2011. She was making around $ 176,000 per year from NYC city council and from renting her apartments at the time ($ 14,600 per month). pic.twitter.com/p73q1kNG4e

— Joel Gilbert (@JoelSGilbert) April 6, 2025

The investigation into James continues via U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, whom Fox News notes “was given authority by Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the investigation of James, a role that requires him to work in coordination with the Eastern District of Virginia’s U.S. attorney if he wants to bring charges in that jurisdiction.”

James’ attorney reportedly sent a letter to Martin last month accusing him of not “conducting a serious investigation or review of ‘mortgage fraud” and alleging that he’ll “take whatever actions you have been directed to take to make good on President Trump’s and Attorney General Bondi’s calls for revenge for that reason alone.”

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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