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When acting U.S. attorney for Eastern Virginia, Erik Siebert, refused to indict NY AG Letitia James, Donald Trump forced him out and replaced him with insurance lawyer Lindsey Halligan, who has no experience at all as a prosecutor. Consequently, she is going to have to lean heavily on her staff if she expects to win any cases in court—if any staff are left after her firing binge is over. On Friday, she fired the top two attorneys in the office, Beth Yusi and Kristin Bird. This follows the firing of other top lawyers earlier this month, namely Michael Ben'Ary, Maggie Cleary and Maya Song. Troy Edwards Jr. (James Comey's son-in-law) resigned.
Ben'Ary didn't go quietly. On the way out, he taped a letter on his office door accusing the DoJ leadership of being more interested in going after Trump's perceived enemies than protecting the country's security.
With the decks cleared, Halligan will be able to bring in fresh talent—if anyone is willing to work for her. She can probably find some Trump toadies who will join, but remember, in the end assistant U.S. attorneys aren't there to spout Trump's talking points. They are there to win court cases. That is slightly more difficult. Especially if they are insurance lawyers with no prosecutorial experience. (V)