In a notable shake-up, another senior prosecutor has been removed from their role in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Maggie Cleary was dismissed from her post on Monday, as reported by both CNN and CBS News.
Just last month, President Trump appointed Cleary as the Acting U.S. Attorney for this district after terminating Erik Siebert from the position. This rapid turnover prompts questions about the stability—and politics—within the Justice Department.
Cleary, an attorney from Culpeper, Virginia, has claimed that she was unfairly targeted during the January 6 investigations and was placed on administrative leave from her previous role as the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
Currently, it remains uncertain whether she retains any position within the Justice Department at all.
Following Cleary’s brief tenure, Lindsey Halligan was swiftly appointed as the new U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Since her installation, Halligan has notably indicted former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
CNN reported:
Maggie Cleary—the senior Justice Department prosecutor who led the powerful U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia for a short while before Trump ally Lindsey Halligan took charge—has been removed from her position, according to sources close to the matter.
It remains unclear if Cleary is still part of the Justice Department, possibly being reassigned; attempts to reach her were unsuccessful, and a spokesperson from the department offered no comment.
Her departure marks a continuation of a trend within the Justice Department, characterized by a more assertive political leadership keen on purging those who oppose their directives. Halligan is moving decisively, having executed several recent firings and becoming personally involved in high-profile courtroom battles—the likes of which aren’t typically within a U.S. attorney’s purview—in cases targeting high-profile critics like Comey and James.
The Justice Department appears to be on a mission to cleanse its ranks of “Deep State” elements within the Eastern District of Virginia—those supposedly resistant to the Trump administration’s initiatives and keen to leak information to mainstream media.
Last week also saw the firing of another significant prosecutor in this district, with Maya Song being removed from her post following the recent termination of national security prosecutor Michael Ben’Ary.
Furthermore, according to MSNBC, Elizabeth Yusi, a senior prosecutor who oversees Norfolk’s criminal cases and controversially stated that there is ‘no probable cause’ regarding Letitia James’s alleged mortgage fraud, is now facing termination herself.
