Boom. The Department of Justice just fired the second-in-command official at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Robert McBride has been axed from his role as first assistant to interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan after he refused to pursue charges against disgraced ex-FBI Director James Comey. BREAKING: The Trump DOJ has FIRED the Virginia prosecutor who refused to lead the prosecution of disgraced former FBI Director James Comey – MS NOW GREAT, purge every Deep State prosecutor and start holding the swamp accountable. LOCK HIM UP! pic.twitter.com/0uO1asU2ZZ — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 12, 2026 Recall that Comey’s indictment was dismissed by a federal judge. However, Halligan isn’t backing down and is currently pursuing another case against Comey. Reportedly, McBride was against it. He also allegedly met up with judges behind Halligan’s back. MS Now reported: McBride, a prosecutor and former supervisor in a U.S. attorney’s office in Kentucky, had been asked in recent days to run the Comey case, and told top Justice officials he felt it would be difficult to do that and also run the office, according to the people. Halligan had also recently learned that McBride held private meetings with federal judges in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to a source familiar with McBride’s removal. That source said the meeting was convened without Halligan’s knowledge and was viewed as undermining the administration. The offices of the attorney general and deputy attorney general supported McBride’s removal and the Executive Office of U.S Attorneys signed the paperwork to remove him. According to Julie Kelly, the reason for McBride’s secret meeting with judges involved a plot to get him appointed in the permanent position of U.S. Attorney: NEW: NYT and MS-NOW reporting that a longtime DOJ attorney has been fired at EDVA a few months after moving to that office to work as Lindsey Halligan’s deputy. Robert McBride reportedly was removed for refusing to pursue another indictment against James Comey, which was… — Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) January 12, 2026   NEW: NYT and MS-NOW reporting that a longtime DOJ attorney has been fired at EDVA a few months after moving to that office to work as Lindsey Halligan’s deputy. Robert McBride reportedly was removed for refusing to pursue another indictment against James Comey, which was dismissed after a federal judge decided Halligan’s appointment was unlawful. (That decision is on appeal.) However, it looks like McBride met with EDVA judges (!) behind Halligan’s back seeking their support to name him the permanent U.S. Attorney for the office–a move that prompted his firing. A source familiar with McBride’s firing tells me that McBride refused to take on immigration-related cases including plans to counter sanctuary policies and drug enforcement. There were also complaints that McBride refused to hold regular meetings with law enforcement agencies… — Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) January 12, 2026 A source familiar with McBride’s firing tells me that McBride refused to take on immigration-related cases including plans to counter sanctuary policies and drug enforcement. There were also complaints that McBride refused to hold regular meetings with law enforcement agencies per their request to brief him on EDVA priorities. McBride’s removal was supported by Attorney General Pam Bondi and DAG Todd Blanche. Just more evidence of what Trump’s DOJ is up against. Snakes everywhere What a snake, indeed. Good riddance!