IC Oversight & Authorities — 2026-05-12

DOJ Comey Prosecution Push Destabilizes Eastern District of Virginia, National Security Cases Affected

The Washington Post reported more than a half-dozen prosecutors pushed out of the Eastern District of Virginia, leaving the office without a U.S. attorney or criminal section chief. CBS News confirmed the firings of deputy Maya Song and national security chief Michael Ben'Ary; Ben'Ary had led prosecution of Mohammad Sharifullah, whose jury deadlocked in late April on the Kabul airport bombing charge. Interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan, a White House ally without prosecutorial experience, secured a Comey indictment before a federal judge dismissed it, ruling her appointment unlawful. A North Carolina grand jury issued a second Comey indictment last week over an Instagram post; the Post, citing two sources, reported the DOJ is weighing a third case on alleged 2018 leaks.

Analysis
The Halligan ruling and six-plus prosecutor departures have reduced EDVA from the country's premier national security venue to a leaderless office unable to execute its core mission, with the Sharifullah charge collapse and multiple defendants' exposure to dismissal motions as direct operational costs. Per a single Washington Post investigation, with CBS News independently corroborating the key terminations, DOJ has already routed subsequent Comey charges through North Carolina and is weighing a third case rooted in the same 2018 episode. A formal EDVA Comey charge is unlikely by end of 2026. The disruption may instead reflect deliberate institutional capture, with EDVA transitional rather than terminal pending installation of a loyal U.S. attorney.

3 sources