Donald Trump woke up the political world in the early hours on Truth Social. He claimed he fired Erik Siebert, his hand-picked U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. The twist? Siebert had already resigned hours before.
“He didn’t quit, I fired him!” Trump wrote at 12:14 a.m.
Siebert had faced pressure to bring mortgage fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James. She is a longtime Trump target who successfully sued him for fraud.
Take a good look at this man; this is what a real man looks like. A real American, a real American hero. By the time you read this, he’ll probably be unemployed. Fired by trump for refusing to falsely indict Letticia James because trump told him to. His name is Erik S. Siebert. pic.twitter.com/qYz3cgSRIy
— Ron Williams (@ronn214) September 20, 2025
Back in April, Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, encouraged the administration to go after James. Officials directed Siebert to see if James listed her Virginia home as her primary residence to secure better loan terms.
After months of digging, investigators found James had only listed the home on a limited power of attorney form. This allowed her niece and co-purchaser to sign documents for her. With no case to pursue, Siebert declined to press charges. By Wednesday, ABC News reported Trump was expected to fire him.
But ABC also reported that, four and a half hours before Trump’s midnight post, Siebert had already emailed his staff to resign. His message made no mention of the James investigation.
Earlier that evening, Trump told reporters during an Oval Office photo op that he was “not following” the case closely. Still, he said he was wary of Siebert because Virginia Democrats Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner had approved him.
“They voted for this guy, and I have other people, judges, and U.S. Attorneys from other states who have the same situation, and they can’t get approved,” Trump said to ABC’s Jonathan Karl.
“So when I learned that they voted [for Siebert], I said, I don’t really want him.”
Trump had nominated Siebert for the position in May.
University of Richmond Law Professor Carl Tobias said he was surprised by Trump’s unhappiness. Tobias told Richmond.com that Siebert had otherwise been executing Trump’s agenda and pointed to high ICE arrests in the district.
“He’s certainly carrying out something that the president wants, and that (Gov. Glenn) Youngkin has strongly supported,” Tobias said. “It’s not as if he’s a renegade.”
