The Department of Justice (DOJ) fired two longtime prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in recent days, The Washington Post Thursday.
Maya Song, a member of the office for 12 years who was at one point the second-highest-ranking leader, was recently fired after being demoted to line prosecutor, the newspaper said, citing three people familiar with the matter. Michael Ben’Ary, who headed the office’s national security division and had over 17 years of experience at the office, was also reportedly let go.
Song and Ben’Ary worked as senior advisors to former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco during the Biden administration. The Washington Post said Ben’Ary’s firing happened shortly after an independent journalist claimed the prosecutor resisted President Donald Trump’s push to indict former FBI Director .
Ben’Ary had no role in the investigation into Comey, however, according to the newspaper. He was reportedly the lead prosecutor in the case of Mohammad Sharifullah, who is accused of orchestrating the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan. Troy Edwards, who also worked on the case, resigned after Comey, his father-in-law, was indicted.
The firings of Ben’Ary and Song have “unnerved” other attorneys in the Virginia office, The Washington Post said. Remaining prosecutors see the DOJ’s actions as a push by Trump to “inject politics” into their staffing and charging decisions, which the attorneys noted could risk national security investigations, according to the newspaper.
The departures of Ben’Ary and Song followed the installation of , who was reportedly Trump’s former personal lawyer and has no prosecutorial experience, as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. A DOJ spokesperson told The National News Desk on Friday that while the department doesn’t discuss personnel matters, it supports Halligan.
“Lindsey Halligan is an outstanding attorney who is working tirelessly to hold criminals accountable and uphold the rule of law. She is fully supported by the AG, DAG, and the entire team at Main Justice, and we are confident in her ability to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in a way that’s just and keeps Virginians safe,” the spokesperson said.
Halligan replaced Erik Siebert, whom Trump had originally selected for the role. Siebert was reportedly unwilling to indict Comey and other political opponents of Trump, and last month, the president announced he fired Siebert. Trump claimed he let the attorney go because both of Virginia’s U.S. Democratic senators supported him, although Siebert said he resigned.
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