US President Donald Trump publicly urged his Justice
Department on Saturday to take action against his enemies, the latest in a
series of moves that critics say have shattered the agency’s traditional
independence.
In a social media post addressing “Pam” — apparently
Attorney General Pam Bondi — Trump fumed over the lack of legal action against
California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James,
both Democrats.
Schiff and James are among a handful of people who have been
accused by a close Trump ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill
Pulte, of falsifying documents on mortgage applications.
“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and
credibility,” Trump said.
On Friday, Trump fired the federal prosecutor who was
overseeing the probe into James, after the attorney reportedly insisted there
was insufficient evidence to charge her with mortgage fraud.
Erik Siebert, US attorney for the Eastern District of
Virginia, told staff of his resignation via an email on Friday, the New York
Times and other US media outlets reported.
“I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers,
and legal pundits, say so,” Trump said Saturday, apparently referencing the
probe into James.
Schiff and James have separately clashed with Trump in prior
years, leading investigations that the Republican president alleges were
political witch hunts.
Late on Saturday, Trump said he had appointed White House
aide Lindsey Halligan, who has been leading a review of the Smithsonian
Institution’s content for “divisive or partisan narratives,” to fill Siebert’s
position.
The US president described Halligan as a “tough, smart, and
loyal attorney.”
– Legal battles –
During Trump’s first term in the White House, Schiff, then a
member of the US House, led the prosecution at the president’s first
impeachment trial, which was based on allegations he pressured Ukraine to
interfere in the 2020 election.
Trump was eventually acquitted by the Senate then, and again
in 2021 when he was impeached a second time, this time for “incitement of
insurrection” connected to the January 6, 2021 invasion of Congress by his
supporters.
After Trump left the White House, James brought a major
civil fraud case against him, alleging he and his company had unlawfully
inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favorable
bank loans or insurance terms.
A state judge ordered Trump to pay $464 million in that
suit, but a higher court later removed the financial penalty while upholding
the underlying judgment.
“They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER
NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Trump wrote Saturday.
Trump has also been convicted of 34 felonies related to hush
money payments to a porn star.
Earlier this month, a US appeals court upheld a jury’s $83.3
million penalty against Trump for defaming author E. Jean Carroll, whom he was
found to have sexually assaulted.
Investigations into Trump over alleged mishandling of
classified material and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020
presidential election were abandoned when he was re-elected last year.
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