The federal prosecutor in charge of pursuing mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James resigned Friday after President Donald Trump said he didn't want him to serve in that position.
Eric S. Siebert, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced his resignation in an email to a colleague obtained by NBC News.
Trump unleashed an attack on Sebert on Friday. Sabert pursued accusations of mortgage fraud against longtime Trump enemy James.
“I want him,” Trump told reporters in the oval office.
The Justice Department rejected comments and Sheebert's office and did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump administration officials are lobbying Saber to investigate potential mortgage fraud charges against James.
The investigation has led to concerns from federal agents and prosecutors who felt they lacked evidence to convict if the trial is brought to trial, two federal law enforcement officials told NBC News Wednesday.
James denied any misconduct.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump nominated Shebert earlier this year — lamenting the Senate's “blue slip” habit, allowing Virginia Democrat Senator and Mark Warner to recommend Shebert.
He called Kane and Warner “the two bad guys, the bad senators, are doing terrible jobs for the people of Virginia.”
In a joint statement Friday, the senator criticized Trump for “pushing out” Shebert, who was called “an ethical prosecutor who refused to file criminal charges against Trump's perceived enemies when the facts didn't support it.”
“The Eastern District of Virginia is at the forefront of important cases that are essential to our national security, and like American courts, we should focus on justice instead of the pale-skinned president Vendetta,” they added.
The New York Court of Appeals dismissed a $500 million civil fraud ruling last month that stemmed from a case filed by James's office, which accused Trump and his company of routinely inflated property values in their financial statements.
Last month, in a social media post praised the court's decision, Trump called James a “political hack” and a “corrupted, incompetent attorney general who brought the case just to hurt politically.”
James' investigation is not the first time a mortgage fraud claim was investigated by the Trump administration in connection with one of Trump's political enemies.
The mortgage fraud claim against Federal Reserve member Lisa Cook has also been featured in the Department of Justice by Trump's political appointee, Bill Parte, director of the Federal Housing and Finance Agency. Trump cited these claims as justification or as a dismissal of her and asked the Supreme Court to weigh them.
This is developing story. Please check for updates.
Alexandra Marquez contributed.