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'A real loss': Virginia legal observers worried about staffing changes in federal prosecutor offices
'A real loss': Virginia legal observers worried about staffing changes in federal prosecutor offices
RADIO IQ | By Dave Cantor
Published October 22, 2025 at 3:25 PM EDT
Staffing in Virginia’s two U. S. Attorney offices has seen noticeable changes since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
Some of that’s to be expected when a new administration begins, though some legal observers say what’s happening is very different.
The Eastern District of Virginia has a history of prosecuting cases with national and international resonance. Terrorism cases connected to 9/11 and a recent Smithfield bomb-making case have moved through the office. … Now, Lindsey Halligan, formerly a part of President Donald Trump’s personal legal team who doesn’t have prosecutorial experience, is leading the district.
University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias says some personnel changes on the cusp of new presidential administrations can be seen as part of the transition, but what’s happened in Virginia is different. … “They've essentially decimated the third most important district in the country,” according to Tobias.
Trump’s first appointee, Erik Siebert, resigned as the Eastern District’s U.S. Attorney in late September, reportedly over declining to indict former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Another attorney briefly ran the office before Halligan was appointed. … In all, the district’s seen four top prosecutors in the job since the beginning of the year. Most recently, two prosecutors were fired on Friday.
{snip}
RADIO IQ | By Dave Cantor
Published October 22, 2025 at 3:25 PM EDT
Staffing in Virginia’s two U. S. Attorney offices has seen noticeable changes since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
Some of that’s to be expected when a new administration begins, though some legal observers say what’s happening is very different.
The Eastern District of Virginia has a history of prosecuting cases with national and international resonance. Terrorism cases connected to 9/11 and a recent Smithfield bomb-making case have moved through the office. … Now, Lindsey Halligan, formerly a part of President Donald Trump’s personal legal team who doesn’t have prosecutorial experience, is leading the district.
University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias says some personnel changes on the cusp of new presidential administrations can be seen as part of the transition, but what’s happened in Virginia is different. … “They've essentially decimated the third most important district in the country,” according to Tobias.
Trump’s first appointee, Erik Siebert, resigned as the Eastern District’s U.S. Attorney in late September, reportedly over declining to indict former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Another attorney briefly ran the office before Halligan was appointed. … In all, the district’s seen four top prosecutors in the job since the beginning of the year. Most recently, two prosecutors were fired on Friday.
{snip}