Trump DOJ Fires Prosecutor Who Rejected Comey Prosecution

The Trump administration’s Justice Department fired Robert McBride, the second-ranking official in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, after he declined to lead the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey. McBride, a 64-year-old career prosecutor and former Navy lawyer, was serving as first assistant to U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan and had been asked to take charge of the Comey case while also managing office operations.

McBride told senior Justice Department officials that leading the Comey prosecution while simultaneously running the office presented an untenable conflict, according to sources briefed on the matter. His removal came after he held private meetings with federal judges in the Eastern District of Virginia without Halligan’s knowledge—meetings that administration officials viewed as undermining their authority.

The timing of McBride’s firing directly follows a judge’s November ruling that Halligan was not legally appointed to her position, which led to the dismissal of both the Comey indictment and charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James. The Attorney General’s and Deputy Attorney General’s offices, along with the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, supported McBride’s removal and signed the termination paperwork.

McBride’s firing exemplifies the systematic weaponization of the DOJ against perceived enemies, as the administration continues pursuing charges against Comey despite judicial rejection of the case. This action against a prosecutor unwilling to serve as a tool for the administration’s political agenda demonstrates the purge of officials who refuse absolute compliance with Trump’s directives.

(Source: https://www.ms.now/news/trump-doj-fires-prosecutor-who-declined-to-pursue-james-comey-case)