Raskin probes removal of US attorney over Comey, James investigations

Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, opened a probe into the removal of a U.S. attorney over his investigation into former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Raskin launched the investigation on Thursday after Erik Siebert, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said he stepped down over facing pressure to bring charges against Comey and James, The Hill reported. President Donald Trump said that he had fired Siebert.

After Siebert left office, Trump told Attorney General Pam Bondi to bring the cases. Comey was indicted on Thursday, just days later. He is facing charges that he made false statements to Congress when he denied leaking information to the media and obstructed justice. The former FBI director could face up to five years in prison on the counts.

“President Trump is waging an unprecedented campaign of vengeance against his enemies. That campaign, including the charges against Ms. James, Mr. Comey, and others that we all see coming, is a scandalous and indefensible assault on equal and impartial justice in America,” Raskin wrote.

The congressman asked for all documents and communications about Seibert’s removal, including any correspondence between the Department of Justice, the White House, and Bill Pulte, who leads the Federal Housing Finance Authority, which made the criminal referrals alleging mortgage fraud against James.

“Mr. Siebert also concluded that there was no basis to bring charges against Mr. Comey. Federal prosecutors investigated President Trump’s claims that Mr. Comey had lied under oath about authorizing leaks to the press and assessed whether he had improperly disclosed classified information,” Raskin wrote.

“As part of that investigation, Mr. Siebert subpoenaed and interviewed Daniel Richman, one of Mr. Comey’s close friends and advisors, about whether Mr. Comey had authorized Mr. Richman to leak memos to the press. Mr. Siebert ultimately was unable to identify any basis for bringing criminal charges against Mr. Comey.”

Raskin also noted Siebert's conclusion on the James case.

“Based on his investigation, Mr. Siebert concluded that there was no basis to bring charges against Ms. James. Criminal mortgage fraud requires ‘knowingly mak[ing] any false statement’ for ‘the purpose of influencing’ a mortgage decision. Mr. Siebert found significant evidence that Ms. James’s erroneous entry on one of several mortgage forms was simply an inadvertent mistake,” Raskin wrote.

“In particular, Ms. James had emailed a mortgage broker shortly before signing the disputed document, emphasizing that ‘[t]his property WILL NOT be my primary residence.’ On another loan form that asked, ‘Will you occupy the property as your primary residence?, Ms. James checked the box marked ‘NO.’ As Mr. Siebert evidently concluded, it is hard to see how Ms. James committed criminal mortgage fraud when she repeatedly made clear to her lenders that she did not intend to reside at the property,” Raskin added, citing The New Yorker.

Raskin also noted that Trump appointed senior White House aide Lindsey Halligan, who was an attorney for the president. She has never worked for a prosecutor's office.

“Her installation raises the urgent question of what promises she made to secure this position—and whether she has pledged to bring the very prosecutions that Mr. Siebert, after careful investigation, determined were legally baseless,” Raskin wrote.