The federal prosecutor responsible for investigating mortgage fraud claims involving New York Attorney General Letitia James resigned on Friday after President Donald Trump expressed he no longer wanted him to continue in the role.
Erik S. Siebert, who was serving as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced his resignation in an email to colleagues, which NBC News obtained.
“This evening, I submitted my resignation as Interim US Attorney for EDVA. For the past eight months, I have had the privilege of leading the finest and most exceptional DOJ employees, who care profoundly about our nation and our EDVA community,” he stated, referring to the Eastern District of Virginia.
Trump on Friday unleashed an attack on Siebert, who was tasked with pursuing mortgage fraud charges against James, a longtime Trump foe.
“I want him out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if he wanted Siebert to be fired.
The Justice Department declined to comment, and Siebert’s office and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump administration officials had been pressing Siebert to investigate potential mortgage fraud charges against James.
The investigation faced delays due to concerns from federal agents and prosecutors, who believed there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction if the case proceeded to trial, two senior federal law enforcement officials revealed to NBC News on Wednesday.
James has denied any wrongdoing.
While speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump — who had initially nominated Siebert earlier this year — criticized the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, which enabled Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia to recommend Siebert for the role.
He referred to Kaine and Warner as “two bad guys, bad senators, too, and they do a terrible job for the people of Virginia.”
On Friday, the senators issued a joint statement condemning Trump for “removing” Siebert, describing him as an “ethical prosecutor who declined to file charges against Trump’s perceived adversaries when there was no supporting evidence.”
“The Eastern District of Virginia is at the forefront of significant cases essential to our national security, and just like any court in America, should be focused on justice instead of a thin-skinned president’s vendettas,” they added.
A New York appeals court last month dismissed a $500 million civil fraud judgment stemming from a case brought by James’ office that had accused Trump and his companies of routinely inflating property values in financial statements.
In a social media post last month lauding the court’s decision, Trump referred to James as a “political hack” and a “Corrupt and Incompetent Attorney General who only brought this Case in order to hurt me politically.”
The investigation of James is not the first time mortgage fraud claims have been investigated by the Trump administration in connection with one of Trump’s perceived political foes.
Mortgage fraud claims against Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook have also been referred to the Justice Department by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, a Trump political appointee. Trump has cited those allegations as a justification for her firing and has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in. Cook has denied the mortgage allegations and declined to leave her position on the board.
