President Trump is pressuring Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue some of his political foes and has announced plans to install an ally as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, which he hopes will help pave the way.
In social media posts over the weekend, Mr. Trump demanded that Ms. Bondi — whom he referred to as “Pam” — move quickly to go after some of his top critics, singling out former FBI Director James Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Mr. Trump posted on social media. “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), over nothing. Justice must be served, now!!!”
Mr. Trump also said he would nominate senior White House aide Lindsey Halligan to serve as the top federal prosecutor for the Virginia office after the U.S. attorney there, Erik S. Siebert, was forced out Friday.
In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said Ms. Bondi has been doing a great job but that she “needs a tough prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, like my recommendation, Lindsey Halligan, to get things moving.”
“I will be nominating Lindsey Halligan to be the United States Attorney in this very important part of our Great Country. She will be Fair, Smart, and will provide, desperately needed, JUSTICE FOR ALL!” he posted.
In an earlier post, Mr. Trump urged Ms. Bondi to act: “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 all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’”
Mr. Siebert resigned as the Trump administration was pushing to bring criminal charges against Ms. James in a mortgage fraud probe.
However, Mr. Trump claimed that he had fired Mr. Siebert, describing him as a “Woke RINO” backed by the state’s Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.
“He even lied to the media and said he quit, and that we had no case,” Mr. Trump said Saturday on social media. “No, I fired him, and there is a great case, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so.”
Meanwhile, Mary Cleary announced in an email to employees that she is taking over as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
“While this appointment was unexpected, I am humbled to be joining your ranks,” Ms. Cleary said in the email.
Ms. Cleary recently rejoined the Justice Department as a senior counsel in the criminal division after working as a prosecutor in the Culpepper Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. She also worked as deputy secretary of public safety in Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Republican administration and later served in Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office.
Ms. Cleary also wrote in The Spectator World this year that when she worked as a federal prosecutor in the Western District of Virginia, she was placed on administrative leave after being wrongly identified in a photo as having been on the U.S. Capitol grounds during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
At the time, Ms. Cleary said she was interviewing to serve as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, and she was seeking the post “to end this type of treatment.”
On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer warned that Mr. Trump’s pursuit of his political foes is a “real threat to democracy.”
“The justice department has always been a very, very strong civil service, no matter who was in charge, a Democrat or a Republican, they went after law violators without fear or favor,” Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “What Trump is doing is he is turning it — he is firing anybody who doesn’t seem to be part of his acolytes, and he is turning it into an instrument that goes after his enemies — whether they are guilty or not … and helps his friends.”
“This is a path to a dictatorship,” he said. “Everybody will object to this.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.