DOJ prosecutors sidelined as Comey indictment push roils Virginia office

More than a half-dozen federal prosecutors have been demoted or pushed out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia as a result of the Justice Department’s sustained push to prosecute former FBI director James B. Comey, the Washington Post reported on Friday, leaving one of the country’s most important national-security prosecutorial offices understaffed and weakened.

At least one major case has been disrupted by the exodus, the Post reported. The Eastern District of Virginia handles a significant share of the Justice Department’s terrorism, espionage and national-security prosecutions, including an active Afghanistan terrorism case.

The departures are the latest sign of internal strain inside a Justice Department that has indicted Comey twice and is weighing a third prosecution, according to the Post and other outlets. The three cases represent an expanding legal campaign against a former senior official who led the FBI during Trump’s first term and whom the president fired in 2017. Comey has been a fierce critic of Trump since his dismissal and has described the prosecutions as politically motivated.

The three cases against Comey

The first indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in September 2024, charged Comey with making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation related to his 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee testimony. A federal judge in South Carolina dismissed those charges in November 2025, ruling that the prosecutor who brought them, acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed to her post. The dismissal was without prejudice, leaving the department free to refile.

The second indictment, unsealed on April 28, charged Comey with two counts of threatening the president. It stemmed from an Instagram post Comey shared in May 2025 showing seashells arranged on a North Carolina beach spelling the numbers “86 47.” The indictment, signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Petracca and filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleged a reasonable recipient would interpret the image as a serious threat against the 47th president. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Legal experts have broadly dismissed the second case. ABC News chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl reported that “the near-universal view is that it will be thrown out before it gets to trial,” adding he had “spoken to no serious lawyers who think these charges will result in a conviction.” The Secret Service interviewed Comey after the post and concluded he did not pose a threat.

Comey, who deleted the post hours after sharing it and apologized, said in a video statement on his Substack: “I’m still innocent, I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go.” His lawyer said Comey would contest the charges and “look forward to vindicating Mr. Comey and the First Amendment.”

The Daily Beast reported on Friday that the department is weighing a third indictment, which would focus on an alleged leak connected to Comey’s 2020 Senate testimony rather than the testimony itself. No charging decision has been announced and the deliberations remain at an early stage, according to the report.

‘Absolutely, positively not’

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has rejected claims that the White House directed the prosecutions. Asked on CBS Mornings on April 29 whether Trump ordered the department to pursue Comey, Blanche replied: “Absolutely, positively not.”

Blanche said the case had “been investigated for nearly a year now” and that “a grand jury returned an indictment.” He defended the charges at a press conference the previous day, saying: “Threatening the life of the president of the United States will never be tolerated by the Department of Justice.”

The denial came as former president Barack Obama delivered a speech this week accusing the department of acting as the president’s “consigliere,” and former special counsel Jack Smith said in private remarks that the DOJ had been corrupted by political pressure.

What the fallout means

The Eastern District of Virginia’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, based in Alexandria, has long handled major national-security cases because of its proximity to the Pentagon, the CIA and the Capitol. The loss of more than half a dozen experienced prosecutors leaves the office scrambling to staff active cases at a moment when the department is under sustained external scrutiny over allegations of politicized prosecutions.

The Washington Post’s reporting, by Justice Department correspondent Perry Stein, did not name the prosecutors who left or were demoted. But the disruption to an Afghanistan terrorism prosecution signals that the consequences extend beyond personnel to active national-security work. The EDVA office has historically been one of the department’s most aggressive prosecutorial districts, handling cases against accused terrorists, spies and hackers.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Post report. A spokesman for the White House referred questions to the department.