Overview
- Robert McBride, the first assistant in the Eastern District of Virginia, was removed after declining to take charge of a renewed case against former FBI Director James Comey, according to multiple reports.
- Justice Department leadership supported the firing and the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys signed the removal paperwork.
- Sources say McBride also held private meetings with federal judges without Lindsey Halligan’s knowledge, a factor cited by officials in justifying his dismissal.
- U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled in November that Halligan was unlawfully appointed, dismissing the Comey and Letitia James indictments; the Justice Department has appealed.
- Prospects for reindictment are constrained by an expired statute of limitations for the Comey charges, repeated grand jury refusals to re-indict Letitia James, and court restrictions on evidence.