DOJ Push To Prosecute James B. Comey Demotes Prosecutors In Eastern District Of Virginia

The Washington Post reports that more than a half-dozen prosecutors were demoted or pushed out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia due to fallout from the Justice Department’s push to prosecute former FBI director James B. Comey.

“President Donald Trump may follow a clear "do as I say, not as I do" formula, at least when it comes to posting on social media, and particularly when it involves former FBI director James Comey”

Law and Crime News

The Washington Post says the result left a key prosecutorial office understaffed and weakened, as the DOJ’s effort to prosecute Comey continued to ripple through the office.

Law and Crime News

The Independent adds that more than six prosecutors have been demoted or pushed out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, with some leaving voluntarily out of fear of working on cases that violate their principles.

The Independent links the turmoil to Trump firing former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert after he raised concerns about insufficient evidence to prosecute Comey, and to the interim U.S. attorney Lindsay Halligan being ousted after a judge determined she was unlawfully appointed.

The Daily Beast says the DOJ is weighing a new indictment for Comey, which would be the 65-year-old Comey’s third indictment during Trump’s second term in office.

The Daily Beast reports that Comey’s first indictment was announced in September for allegedly obstructing a congressional investigation in 2020 and making false statements, and that a federal judge dismissed the case in November.

The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast also quotes ABC’s chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl telling George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America that “Even Trump’s allies are privately calling it embarrassing, or—as one very prominent former Trump DOJ official told me last night—depressing,” and that “I have spoken to no serious lawyers who think these charges will result in a conviction.”

Law and Crime News says Comey’s current indictment issued on April 28, 2026 focuses on alleged threats made via social media against the president, tied to a May 2025 Instagram post spelling out “86 47” in seashells in the sand.

Law and Crime News says Comey faces his second federal indictment months after his first was dismissed in November 2025, and it describes prosecutors alleging the “86 47” seashell post was “a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States.”

“President Donald Trump’s attempts to have the Department of Justice criminally indict his political foe, former FBI Director James Comey, has reportedly led to massive turnover of career prosecutors in a key U”

The Independent

Law and Crime News adds that Comey’s legal team indicated they would file a motion to dismiss based on claims of vindictive and selective prosecution, and it frames the court’s task as distinguishing jest, idle talk, and political hyperbole from literal threats.

The Daily Beast reports that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Comey’s second indictment in April, and it says a grand jury in North Carolina returned an indictment on two counts of making threats against the president’s life over the Instagram post.

The Washington Post’s account of the DOJ push to prosecute Comey describes how the demotions and departures left the Eastern District of Virginia office understaffed and weakened, setting the stage for further legal fights over whether the indictments can survive.