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No. 2 federal prosecutor in Virginia's Eastern District fired for declining to lead prosecution of ex-FBI Director Comey, source says

By
Sarah N. Lynch
Sarah N. Lynch
Senior Justice Department Reporter
Sarah N. Lynch is the senior Justice Department reporter for CBS News, based in Washington, D.C.
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Sarah N. Lynch

/ CBS News

The second-highest ranking federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia was fired on Monday, after he refused to help lead the Justice Department's prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News.

Robert McBride, a former longtime federal prosecutor in Kentucky's Eastern District, had only been on the job as first assistant U.S. Attorney for a few months after joining the office in the fall. He most recently worked in private practice in Kentucky and also previously served in the United States Navy, Judge Advocate General's Corps earlier in his career.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment on the firing, which was reported earlier by .

Comey, one of President Trump's perceived political foes, was indicted last fall on two counts alleging he provided false testimony to Congress in September 2020. 

The indictment was secured solely by Lindsey Halligan, who was hand-picked by Mr. Trump to serve as interim U.S. Attorney after her predecessor declined to pursue criminal charges against Comey or New York Attorney General Letitia James, citing a lack of evidence.

Halligan secured indictments against both Comey and James without any involvement from career prosecutors, who declined to get involved because of the weak evidence in both cases, according to sources familiar with the matter.

In November, a federal judge dismissed the charges against both Comey and James, finding that Halligan had been unlawfully appointed. The Justice Department is currently appealing that ruling.

Since Halligan was disqualified from her role, the department has tried and failed twice to secure a new indictment against James.

The case against Comey poses more legal complexities, as the statute of limitations expired less than a week after he was indicted. 

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