Donald
Trump
is
determined
to
prosecute
his
political
enemies.
It
was
less
than
a
month
ago
that
U.S.
Attorney
for
the
Eastern
District
of
Virginia
Erik
Siebert
was
forced
out
of
a
job
for
refusing
to
bring
charges
against
New
York
Attorney
General
Letitia
James
and
other
Trump
foes.
The
utterly
unqualified
Lindsey
Halligan
was
installed
in
his
place
and
immediately
slapped
together
some
charges
against
another
Trump
target,
former
FBI
Director
James
Comey,
as
the
statute
of
limitations
was
expiring,
while
the
witch
hunts
against
other
political
enemies
continued.
Elizabeth
Yusi,
head
of
major
criminal
prosecutions
in
the
Norfolk
office
of
the
Eastern
District
of
Virginia,
took
the
lead
on
the
James
investigation
(in
an
apparent
effort
to
insulate
her
staff
from
the
political
pressure
of
the
case).
And
MSNBC
is
reporting
Yusi
sees
no
probable
cause
to
seek
mortgage
fraud
charges
—
the
right’s
go-to
investigation for
Trump’s
political
enemies
—
against
James.
And
she’s
willing
to
lose
her
job
over
it,
according
to
two
sources
who
spoke
with
MSNBC,
as
she
readies
to
present
her
conclusion
to
Halligan.
And
Seibert
and
Yusi
aren’t
the
only
prosecutors
in
that
office
who
are
opting
to
follow
the
law,
rather
than
the
politics
of
the
moment.
On
Friday,
the
top
national
security
prosecutor
in
Virginia’s
Eastern
District
railed
against
Justice
Department
political
appointees
for
carrying
out
Trump’s
directives
rather
than
fulfilling
their
oath
to
“follow
the
facts
and
the
law
wherever
they
lead,
free
from
fear
or
favor,
and
unhindered
by
political
interference.”
The
prosecutor,
Michael
Ben’Ary,
had
been
fired
after
a
Trump
ally
questioned
his
loyalty
to
Trump
in
a
social
media
post.
Ben’Ary
wrote
in
a
letter,
“In
recent
months,
the
political
leadership
of
the
Department
have
violated
these
principles,
jeopardizing
our
national
security
and
making
American
citizens
less
safe.”
Randall
Eliason,
former
prosecutor
at
the
U.S.
Attorney’s
Office
for
the
District
of
Columbia,
said,
Yusi
“clearly
is
doing
the
right
and
ethical
thing
by
refusing
to
bend
her
legal
conclusions
to
fit
the
president’s
desire
for
political
retribution.”
But
said
it
is
“tragic”
career
prosecutors
are
being
“forced
to
choose
between
honoring
their
oaths
and
risking
their
livelihood”
and
“forced
out
by
the
president’s
politicization
of
the
Justice
Department.”
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].