by Dick Hall-Sizemore

Poor Donald Trump.  His appointments as U.S. Attorney in Virginia are proving to have too much independence and integrity. First there was Todd Gilbert in the Western District. Now, there is Erik Seibert in the Eastern District.

Seibert’s office was overseeing the investigation of Letitia James, New York Attorney General, for mortgage fraud regarding her purchase of a house in Norfolk. After he refused to seek an indictment after investigators were unable to find incriminating evidence of fraud, the Trump administration made it clear that it wanted him out. He then resigned. Unlike Gilbert’s resignation, this one made national news.

Seibert had been serving as the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District since January. In May, President Trump formally nominated him for the U.S. Attorney position. Both of Virginia’s Democrat Senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, had supported Seibert.

Shortly after appointing Culpeper attorney Mary Cleary to be the interim U.S. Attorney, Trump announced that he intended to nominate White House aide, Lindsay Halligan, for the post. Halligan had been one of Trump’s attorneys in the case regarding his retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.  Most recently she has been in charge of removing “improper ideology” at the Smithsonian. Halligan has no prosecutorial experience. Before joining the Trump defense team in the Mar-a-Lago case, she had primarily handled insurance claims.

It is likely that Halligan will not be in the position for very long. Sens. Warner and Kaine will surely oppose her nomination. It is the custom of the U.S. Senate not to confirm any U.S. Attorney nominee that is opposed by a Senator from that state. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has indicated that he will continue to honor this “blue slip” tradition. An interim U.S. Attorney can only serve for 120 days. After that, he or she must be approved by the district court judges of the circuit. However, that should be enough time for her to carry out Trump’s marching orders that Letitia James and James Comey, two of his arch-enemies, be indicted.