{"id":2494002,"date":"2025-10-02T19:48:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T23:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prosecutors-tied-to-lisa-monaco-ousted-from-handling-comey-case\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T19:49:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T23:49:33","slug":"prosecutors-tied-to-lisa-monaco-ousted-from-handling-comey-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prosecutors-tied-to-lisa-monaco-ousted-from-handling-comey-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Prosecutors tied to Lisa Monaco ousted from handling Comey case"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fprosecutors-tied-to-lisa-monaco-ousted-from-handling-comey-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2494002&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>This article reports on recent changes in the U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which is handling the criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey. Two senior prosecutors with connections to Lisa monaco, the current Deputy Attorney General during the Biden governance, have left the office amid internal upheaval. Michael Ben&#8217;Ary, who led the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-want-to-slash-aid-to-iraq-lebanon-and-the-united-nations\/\" title=\"Republicans Want To Slash Aid to Iraq, Lebanon, and the United Nations\">national security section<\/a> and previously served as senior counsel to monaco, was reportedly fired shortly after conservative journalist Julie Kelly publicly highlighted his ties to Monaco. Kelly suggested that officials linked to Monaco represent a conflict of interest, accusing them of resisting the prosecution of Comey.However, sources say Ben&#8217;Ary was not involved in the Comey case.<\/p>\n<p>another senior prosecutor, Maya Song, also departed recently. Both were connected to the previous leadership under former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, who was removed last month. Siebert&#8217;s office had reportedly hesitated to bring charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James in a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >mortgage fraud investigation<\/a> and had ties to Comey through family relations.<\/p>\n<p>Following these departures, Lindsey halligan, a former Trump legal adviser, was appointed to lead the office. Shortly thereafter, Halligan secured indictment against Comey, who faces charges of lying to Congress about leak authorizations.Comey has denied the charges and is scheduled to appear in court soon.<\/p>\n<p>The article also discusses Monaco&#8217;s controversial role in the early investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, making her a target of Trump and his supporters.Monaco&#8217;s background includes serving as homeland security adviser under Obama and playing key roles in DOJ prosecutions under Biden. Her close association with politically sensitive cases has fueled criticism and allegations of bias from conservative figures. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Prosecutors with ties to Lisa Monaco ousted from office handling Comey case<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2359697\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Two senior federal prosecutors have departed the U.S. Attorney&rsquo;s Office for the Eastern District of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Virginia<\/a>, adding to the mounting upheaval inside the office that recently brought criminal charges against former FBI Director <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/james-comey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">James Comey<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Ben&rsquo;Ary, who led the office&rsquo;s national security section, was reportedly fired on Wednesday. The move came just hours after conservative journalist Julie Kelly publicly flagged his prior role as senior counsel to former Deputy Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3437371\/trump-links-biden-aide-lisa-monaco-autopen-immigration-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lisa Monaco<\/a> during the Biden administration, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/turmoil-virginia-us-attorneys-office-comey-indictment-2\/story?id=126138109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">multiple<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/justice-department-firings-trump-administration-83b4024edb1665b2e13cbc970650f477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports<\/a> citing people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3834145\/judge-recuses-himself-in-oregon-national-guard-case\/\">Judge recuses himself in Oregon National Guard case after DOJ points to wife&#8217;s comments<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3835123\/trump-administration-changed-out-of-office-emails-shutdown\/\">Trump administration changed out-of-office emails to slam Democrats, staffers claim<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3835073\/russell-vought-shutdown-puberty-mike-lee\/\">Vought has dreamed of shutdown &lsquo;since puberty,&rsquo; Mike Lee says<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lisa Monaco released a statement on Sunday commending the people of France for their &ldquo;bravery and determination&rdquo; following a series of attacks around the city a year ago. (AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster) | Carolyn Kaster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kelly told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that her post directly contributed to Ben&rsquo;Ary&rsquo;s removal. She said President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a> &ldquo;ran on de-weaponizing and cleaning up the systemically corrupt DOJ, but you can&rsquo;t do that if you have in powerful positions people who were top advisers to the very architects of the lawfare against the president,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>While Kelly suggested Ben&rsquo;Ary may have been part of an &ldquo;internal resistance&rdquo; to the Comey prosecution, one person familiar with the matter told the <em>Associated Press<\/em> he had no involvement in the case.<\/p>\n<p>Ben&rsquo;Ary had served in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/justice-department\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Justice Department<\/a> for nearly two decades and was most recently prosecuting an alleged planner of the 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghan civilians. The trial for Mohammad Sharifullah, the alleged planner of the attack, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3784569\/abbey-gate-bombing-accomplice-december-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">slated for Dec. 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ben&rsquo;Ary&rsquo;s firing followed the recent departure of Maya Song, another senior prosecutor who had served as top deputy to former U.S. Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3816835\/trump-clarifies-top-virginia-prosecutor-didnt-quit-i-fired-him\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Erik Siebert<\/a>. Song also worked in Monaco&rsquo;s office during the Biden administration. Her LinkedIn profile indicates she is no longer with the Justice Department as of this week, the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>Siebert, a Trump appointee, was removed last month amid reports that his office was reluctant to bring charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) in a long-running mortgage fraud probe.<\/p>\n<p>Trump appointed Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide and longtime Trump legal adviser, to lead the Alexandria-based office. Halligan was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3817143\/trump-nominates-lindsey-halligan-top-virginia-prosecutor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">named on Sept. 20<\/a>, shortly after Trump publicly urged Attorney General <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pam-bondi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pam Bondi<\/a> to pursue cases against his perceived opponent, including Comey.<\/p>\n<p>Halligan&rsquo;s first major move was securing Comey&rsquo;s indictment. Comey is charged with lying to Congress about whether he authorized leaks to the media.<\/p>\n<p>Minutes after the indictment was filed, Comey&rsquo;s son-in-law, Troy Edwards, resigned from his position in the same office. In a brief letter to Halligan, he wrote that he was leaving &ldquo;to uphold my oath to the Constitution and the country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Siebert&rsquo;s reluctance to bring charges related to the James investigation, allies of Trump, including Kelly, pointed to Siebert&rsquo;s familial relations as a warning sign while a grand jury was still weighing a prosecution against Comey. Siebert&rsquo;s father-in-law, Richard Cullen, is a godfather to one of Comey&rsquo;s daughters, the&nbsp;<em>Washington Post&nbsp;<\/em>previously reported in June 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Monaco has long been a target of Trump and his allies for her behind-the-scenes role in the early stages of the Trump-Russia investigation. Earlier this year, she was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/03\/rescinding-security-clearances-and-access-to-classified-information-from-specified-individuals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">included in a long list of former Democratic officials<\/a> who lost access to security clearances and classified information.<\/p>\n<p>As former President Barack Obama&rsquo;s homeland security adviser in 2016, she was part of a small circle of national security officials, including then-CIA Director John Brennan and then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who reviewed intelligence related to Russian election interference and discussed potential responses.<\/p>\n<p>According to declassified documents and congressional testimony, Monaco participated in high-level White House meetings where officials considered whether to brief the Trump campaign about potential Russian contacts. Critics argue that those deliberations helped lay the groundwork for the FBI&rsquo;s Crossfire Hurricane inquiry and the broader lawfare campaign Trump has accused his opponents of orchestrating.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/attorney-lin-wood-defends-ag-bill-barr-after-announces-he-is-stepping-down-trump-voters-respond\/\" title=\"Attorney Lin Wood Defends AG Bill Barr After Announces He Is Stepping Down \u2014 ... Voters Respond\">deputy attorney general<\/a> during the Biden administration, Monaco played a key role in overseeing the start of two federal criminal cases against Trump. She also helped orchestrate the DOJ&rsquo;s aggressive prosecution of Jan. 6 rioters. <\/p>\n<p>More recently, Monaco drew Trump&rsquo;s ire again after joining Microsoft as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democrat-senator-urges-biden-to-reverse-on-keystone-pipeline-14-ags-threaten-legal-action\/\" title=\"Top Democrat Senator Urges ... To Reverse On Keystone Pipeline, 14 AGs Threaten Legal Action\">chief legal officer<\/a>, prompting him to call on the tech giant to fire her in a social media post.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Lisa Monaco, her dirty fingerprints stretch all the way back to the summer of 2016 as an architect of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Russiagate<\/a>,&rdquo; Kelly said. &ldquo;So you can&rsquo;t have people who worked in close capacity with her&mdash;Senior Counsel, Associate Deputy Attorney General&mdash;you can&rsquo;t have them in the DOJ. I mean, they can&rsquo;t be trusted.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3831389\/trump-eyes-next-targets-foreshadow-more-indictments-after-comey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TRUMP EYES NEXT TARGETS AS COMEY CHARGES FORESHADOW MORE INDICTMENTS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Comey has denied wrongdoing and is expected to appear in court next week. &ldquo;My heart is broken for the Department of Justice,&rdquo; he said in a statement claiming his innocence last week.<\/p>\n<p>He is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Alexandria on Oct. 9.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prosecutors linked to Lisa Monaco removed from Comey case office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2494003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24005650519942-scaled.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[64085,56911,5169],"class_list":["post-2494002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-comey-case","tag-lisa-monaco","tag-prosecutors"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP24005650519942-scaled.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2494002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2494002"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2494002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2494006,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2494002\/revisions\/2494006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2494003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2494002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2494002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2494002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}