"ABC, which was the first to report on the firing, confirms that Seibert received notice that Trump wanted to fire him on Thursday, which presumably is how both ABC and NBC reported he was expected to be fired in advance of that happening. Siebert was notified of the president's intention to fire him Thursday, sources said, and Trump said Friday afternoon in the Oval Office that he wanted Siebert "out" of his position."
"And even though Trump has reversed engineered a different reason for the firing - it's not that he's firing Siebert because Siebert won't prosecute Tish James, it's that he was backed by both Virginia's Democratic Senators, which was true and apparent when Trump nominated Siebert - in the same breath he insisted that Seibert had not quit, but instead Trump had fired him."
Erik Siebert was forced out as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after he refused to charge Tish James with mortgage fraud despite little evidence. The White House informed Siebert of the president's intention to remove him on Thursday, creating public knowledge of the firing before it occurred. Trump later framed the removal as punishment for Siebert's support from Virginia's Democratic senators while insisting that he had fired Siebert rather than Siebert resigning. Siebert reportedly wishes to remain at EDVA as an AUSA. The public handling of the removal could affect Siebert's legal options and the status of cases he declined to pursue.
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