WASHINGTON — A senior federal prosecutor who refused former President Donald Trump’s push to bring criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James was fired Friday evening, according to two Justice Department officials.
Elizabeth Yusi, who oversaw major prosecutions in the Norfolk office of the US attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia, was dismissed along with her deputy, Kristin G. Bird.
The Trump prosecutor fired controversy has sent new shockwaves through an already divided Justice Department.
The firings came days after Yusi declined to pursue an indictment against James, despite Trump’s repeated public and private demands. Yusi reportedly told colleagues that the evidence did not establish probable cause for mortgage fraud.
Last week, however, Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s appointed US attorney for the Eastern District, brought charges against James, accusing her of falsely claiming that a Virginia property would serve as her secondary residence to secure favorable mortgage terms.
The Trump prosecutor fired episode follows similar turmoil earlier this year, when Erik S. Siebert, Halligan’s predecessor, resigned after rejecting Trump’s request to indict former FBI Director James Comey. Both James and Comey have denied wrongdoing, calling the cases politically motivated.
Legal scholars warn that the Trump prosecutor fired case underscores the fragility of the Justice Department’s independence.
“This is an institutional crisis,” said Thomas Ridley, a former DOJ ethics adviser now teaching at Georgetown Law. “When experienced prosecutors are punished for following the law instead of political directives, the rule of law itself is endangered.”
Rachel Moore, a retired federal prosecutor, said the situation recalls the Watergate era purge known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.” “It’s the same pattern,” she said. “When career officials are replaced by loyalists, you create an echo chamber that undermines justice.”
Others defend the president’s authority. “Every administration has the right to appoint US attorneys who share its enforcement priorities,” said Henry Falk, a conservative legal analyst. “The key question is whether these firings were based on performance or politics.”
The Eastern District of Virginia long considered one of the nation’s most respected US attorney’s offices has been hit by an unprecedented wave of departures.
At least nine senior officials have resigned or been dismissed since January, representing nearly one third of the office’s leadership, internal records show.
Historically, the district handled major terrorism, espionage, and corruption cases. The current turnover mirrors the turmoil of the Nixon era, when political interference led to mass resignations across the Justice Department.
Within the Norfolk office, morale has fallen sharply. “People are looking over their shoulders,” said a career prosecutor who requested anonymity. “No one wants to be the next headline.”
Outside the courthouse, residents expressed mixed reactions. “I don’t trust any of them,” said Harold Boyd, a retired Navy officer. “If a Trump prosecutor fired story is true, it shows how politics has poisoned everything.”
Others defended the administration’s actions. “If someone broke the law, they should face charges no matter who they are,” said Charlene Myers, a local business owner. “Trump promised to clean up corruption, and maybe this is part of that.”
The firings are expected to trigger congressional scrutiny. Lawmakers from both parties have called for an inspector general review to determine whether political pressure influenced prosecutorial decisions.
“The Justice Department must be guided by evidence, not revenge,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said in a statement.
Pretrial hearings in the Letitia James case are expected later this year, while Comey’s defense team has already filed motions to dismiss the charges as “legally baseless.”
“This will define how much independence the Justice Department truly has under political fire,” said Professor Moore. “Every firing adds another crack to the system.”
The Trump prosecutor fired episode highlights a deepening conflict between political authority and legal independence.
As the Justice Department faces scrutiny over its autonomy, the fallout could reshape how Americans perceive the boundaries between justice and politics for years to come.