See below for reactions by Virginia Democrats to the Trump administration’s indictment of former FBI Director James Comey – a “dangerous abuse of power,” “trumped-up charges,” an “act of staggering corruption” by the “most corrupt president in American history,” etc.
STATEMENT OF U.S. SEN. MARK R. WARNER
~ On the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey ~
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement:
“Donald Trump has made clear that he intends to turn our justice system into a weapon for punishing and silencing his critics. After prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia reviewed the facts and recommended against charges for James Comey, Trump forced out Erik Siebert – a highly qualified U.S. Attorney with an outstanding record – because he refused to deliver the outcome Trump demanded. In his place, Trump installed one of his personal lawyers, a political loyalist with zero experience prosecuting cases anywhere, to bring the charges that career professionals had already rejected.
“This kind of interference is a dangerous abuse of power. Our system depends on prosecutors making decisions based on evidence and the law, not on the personal grudges of a politician determined to settle scores. By ousting a respected, independent prosecutor and replacing him with a partisan loyalist, Trump is undermining one of the most important U.S. Attorney’s offices in the country and eroding the rule of law itself.”
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KAINE STATEMENT ON TRUMP’S RETRIBUTION AGAINST FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s malicious prosecution of former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey:
“I’ve had my differences with James Comey in the past, but I can spot trumped-up charges a mile away. Trump said he’d go after him, then fired a superb, ethical prosecutor when he refused to bring frivolous charges against those whom Trump perceived to be his enemies. Now he has installed yet another one of his personal lawyers as the interim U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia—this one a Florida insurance lawyer with no prosecutorial experience and no connection to Virginia—to do his bidding. The rule of law must prevail.”
Last week, Warner and Kaine blasted President Donald Trump’s forcing out of Erik Siebert, interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, because Siebert was unwilling to bring criminal charges against Trump’s perceived enemies.
On January 21, 2025, the Trump administration appointed Erik Siebert as the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. In April, after an extensive interview process that included the input of a bipartisan panel of former Virginia U.S. attorneys and other well-respected members of the Virginia legal community, Warner and Kaine sent a letter to the White House recommending Siebert for the U.S. attorney position. In May, the White House announced that Siebert was formally nominated for the role. Siebert was serving in an interim capacity because he had not yet been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. On May 9, 2025, the District Judges of the Eastern District of Virginia unanimously voted for Seibert to continue as the interim U.S. Attorney.
UPDATED 8:07 pm
