The Justice Department has fired two of the highest-level prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News, just days after President Trump ousted the U.S. Attorney there — and picked a replacement who charged former FBI Director James Comey.
The sources said Maya Song, a longtime high-ranking official in the office, was fired last week. Michael Ben’Ary, an accomplished and experienced national security prosecutor, was also terminated, the sources told CBS News.
The firings come amid turmoil in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Alexandria, Virginia, days after the Justice Department filed criminal charges there against Comey. Mr. Trump removed his own appointee, Erik Siebert, from the post of U.S. Attorney, and installed White House aide Lindsey Halligan to be the new federal prosecutor in eastern Virginia. Halligan successfully secured a grand jury indictment of Comey days later. Staff at the U.S. Attorney’s office had circulated a memo arguing the charges shouldn’t be brought, CBS News has reported.
Home to the Pentagon and the CIA headquarters, the Eastern District of Virginia is one of the largest federal prosecutor offices in the United States, with hundreds of staff and a uniquely broad set of international and terror cases.
Ben’Ary was the lead prosecutor in the ongoing, high-profile criminal case of Mohammad Sharifullah, a suspected plotter in the Abbey Gate terror attack in Afghanistan in 2021, which killed 13 American service members and about 170 Afghans as the U.S. military withdrew from Kabul. Sharifullah is scheduled to go on trial later this year.
Maya Song was a high-ranking official under Siebert, before Siebert was ousted.
A MAGA-aligned writer, Julie Kelly, posted allegations earlier this week that Ben’Ary was part of a “resistance” to filing a case against Comey.
A Justice Department spokesperson said the agency “does not discuss personnel matters.”
The spokesperson called Halligan an “outstanding attorney who is working tirelessly to hold criminals accountable and uphold the rule of law.” The Justice Department said Halligan has Attorney General Pam Bondi’s full support, “and we are confident in her ability to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in a way that’s just and keeps Virginians safe.”
Song and Ben’Ary are the latest in a growing series of fired prosecutors who had ties to high-profile cases, including those who handled the cases of Jan. 6 rioters and prosecutors who handled the criminal probes of Mr. Trump.
Stacey Young, executive director of Justice Connection, which supports former Justice Department employees, told CBS News, “We’re losing some of the country’s best prosecutors who’ve served the United States with distinction under multiple presidents.”
“Too often, job performance under this Justice Department leadership isn’t measured by competence — in fact, it can be disqualifying,” Young said. “In many cases, blind loyalty is the only factor that matters.”
