The attorney appointed by a jury to serve as the chief prosecutor for the Virginia office that prosecuted opponents of President Donald Trump was quickly fired Friday by the Justice Department in the latest controversy over the appointment of powerful U.S. attorneys.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced James Hundley’s firing on social media shortly after he was unanimously selected by the justices to replace former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Although the law says that the district court may appoint US attorneys when the term of the first appointment expires, the Trump administration has insisted that the power rests only in the hands of the executive branch.
“EDVA judges don’t pick our US attorney. POTUS does. James Hundley, fired!” Blanche said in X’s post.
Hundley, who has handled criminal and civil cases for more than 30 years, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday evening.
Hundley’s firing is the latest sign of turmoil in one of the Justice Department’s highest-ranking prosecutors’ offices, which has been in turmoil since September following the resignation of a veteran prosecutor amid pressure from the Trump administration to prosecute two of the president’s arch-enemies, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
That prosecutor, Erik Siebert, was forced out and quickly replaced by Halligan, the White House aide who indicted Comey and James but was later deemed by a judge to have been illegally appointed.
The charges were dismissed, but the Justice Department has appealed that decision.
Halligan resigned from the position last month after judges in the county expressed doubts about the legality of his appointment.
U.S. attorneys, the top federal prosecutors in state Department of Justice offices across the country, usually require Senate confirmation but the law allows attorney generals to appoint adjuncts for a limited term.
In many cases, however, the Justice Department has tried to leave temporary appointees working in ways that have invited court challenges and met with resistance from judges who found the appointments illegal.
Last week, the judge-appointed U.S. attorney for upstate New York was fired by the Justice Department after less than a day on the job.
Judges in the district appointed Kinsella after refusing to keep Trump’s chief of staff, John Sarcone, in place after his 120-day term expired.
