Trump’s Beauty Queen Prosecutor Begins Purging DOJ Office
The top prosecutor behind the Comey and James indictments is making more staffing changes in the office.
Al Drago/Getty Images
U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan is leaving her mark on the Justice Department with the ousting of top prosecutor Maggie Cleary.
Cleary briefly served as the top prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia, but she has been removed from the office, according to CNN.
It is not clear whether Cleary remains at the Justice Department. A spokesperson declined to comment to the Daily Beast, and attempts to reach Cleary directly were not immediately returned.
Cleary’s reported departure is the latest in a series of exits, as the Justice Department moves forward with its prosecutions against U.S. President Donald Trump’s perceived foes.
U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, pictured as part of Donald Trump’s legal team in 2022, wants to move around top prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia, according to CNN.
Marco Bello/AFP via Getty Images
Halligan—a former beauty queen turned Trump personal attorney—was elevated to the top post after U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned under presidential pressure against Trump’s political foes.
Halligan has moved quickly to execute the president’s wishes, which he had laid out publicly.
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Despite having no previous prosecutorial experience, Halligan has moved forward to secure indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Halligan is reportedly interested in moving around prosecutors who, she believes, oppose her work on politically charged cases, a person familiar told CNN.
Cleary aligned with career prosecutors who opposed bringing the Comey case and sat in a back row, not at the government table, when Halligan presented the Comey indictment from the grand jury before the magistrate judge, according to the report.
The former FBI director was charged with two counts including making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding for testimony he gave in 2020.
The Justice Department has brought charges against James Comey and Letitia James after Trump installed Lindsey Halligan as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Cleary’s exit is the latest in a series of departures and firings.
Top national security prosecutor Michael Ben’Ary was fired upon Halligan’s arrival after serving with the department for 20 years.
He accused the political leadership at the department of being “more concerned with punishing the President’s perceived enemies” than in protecting national security, in a note to colleagues he left behind.
Fellow prosecutor Maya Song was also ousted from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia last month.
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