Trump DOJ fires prosecutor who declined to pursue James Comey case

WASHINGTON - A senior federal prosecutor in Virginia was fired after a disagreement about whether he would take charge of the Trump administration’s effort to reindict James Comey, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The dismissal of the prosecutor, Robert K. McBride, is the latest fallout in the Justice Department over

President Donald Trump’s effort to punish Mr Comey

, the former FBI director and his longtime nemesis, whom the president blames for past investigations of his conduct.

Mr McBride had been in the US attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia for only a couple of months, temporarily serving as the top deputy to Ms Lindsey Halligan after more than a decade as a federal prosecutor in Kentucky.

Mr Trump selected Ms Halligan as the US attorney after her predecessor resisted bringing charges against Mr Comey, saying the evidence was not sufficient to warrant doing so.

Ms Halligan was put in the job through an unusual personnel maneuver that a judge later determined was unlawful. In doing so, the judge declared that she was not a valid US attorney and dismissed two high-profile cases that she had brought, charging Mr Comey with lying to Congress and charging Attorney-General Letitia James of New York with lying on mortgage paperwork.

The administration has tried to restart the Comey prosecution and wanted Mr McBride to lead that effort, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. Mr McBride said he could not do that while also running the prosecutor’s office as the first assistant US attorney – he could do one or the other, these people said.

One person familiar with the events disputed that explanation, stating that Mr McBride had been dismissed because he had secretly met with judges in the district to try to persuade them to appoint him as US attorney.

Mr McBride, that person added, had resisted pursuing immigration-related investigations related to local jurisdictions’ sanctuary policies and drug enforcement. The person also said Justice Department leaders supported the decision to fire Mr McBride.

It is common for the leaders of a US attorney’s office, including the top deputy, known as a first assistant, to meet with judges in the district, particularly given that the court had declared Ms Halligan unlawfully appointed.

In December, the Trump administration appealed the ruling, issued by Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, voiding Ms Halligan’s appointment as US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Despite Ms Currie’s order, Ms Halligan has continued to lay claim to that title, signing court papers as the district’s top prosecutor.

A federal judge in Richmond, Virginia, has given Ms Halligan until Jan 13 to explain in writing why doing so is not “a false or misleading statement.” Continuing to do so, the judge suggested, could lead to disciplinary measures.

Senior Justice Department officials have privately decided that because Ms Currie’s ruling did not expressly remove Ms Halligan from office, she could remain, according to people familiar with their decision.

Ms Currie’s decision to disqualify Ms Halligan centred on Mr Trump’s unorthodox move to appoint her in an interim capacity, replacing his previous pick, who was also serving in a temporary role. Ms Currie found that federal law did not allow the administration to appoint two interim prosecutors in succession.

Mr Trump fired Ms Halligan’s predecessor, Erik S. Siebert, after he refused to bring charges against Mr Comey and Ms James.

Other judges have rejected the administration’s efforts to install US attorneys in a similar fashion. Federal judges in other states have made similar rulings against Ms Alina Habba as the US attorney in New Jersey and Mr John Sarcone in upstate New York. NYTIMES