DOJ Removes National Security Prosecutor Amid Allegations of Resistance

The Justice Department has dismissed one of its top national security prosecutors, Michael Ben’Ary, following an unfounded accusation from a pro-Trump commentator linking him to internal pushback over the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. The firing came just hours after Julie Kelly posted on X, claiming the public “can only assume” Ben’Ary “was a big part of the internal resistance” to indicting Comey, despite offering no evidence.

Ben’Ary had been leading the national security unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Three sources familiar with the matter confirmed his termination. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the dismissal, and the White House redirected inquiries to DOJ. Ben’Ary, who did not respond to a request for comment, had no involvement in the Comey case, according to those familiar with the investigation.

Firing Follows Escalating Political Pressure

Ben’Ary’s removal came just one week after the firing of Maya Song, another prosecutor in the same office. Both had previously worked under former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who oversaw early Trump-related federal investigations. Monaco, now an executive at Microsoft, has also drawn fire from Trump. In a Truth Social post, he called her “corrupt,” “Trump deranged,” and a “menace to U.S. national security,” demanding Microsoft “immediately terminate” her due to its federal contracts.

Julie Kelly has remained vocal. In a follow-up X post, she stated Ben’Ary “should have been gone long ago,” regardless of whether he had any role in resisting the Comey charges. Speaking to NBC News, she argued that “you can’t have someone who was a top official for Lisa Monaco at the same time she was orchestrating the lawfare against the president, his allies, and 1,600 January 6 supporters,” serving in a senior role at DOJ.

Comey, meanwhile, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two felony counts. The charges, however, followed internal resistance. DOJ career lawyers had drafted a declination memo arguing the case was too weak to succeed at trial. The grand jury rejected a third charge outright.

Erik Siebert, the former interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned under White House pressure a week before the indictment. Reports suggested he opposed prosecuting New York Attorney General Letitia James. Shortly after, Trump appointed his former personal attorney Lindsey Halligan to serve as interim U.S. attorney, despite her lack of criminal prosecution experience.

According to a source familiar with the proceedings, Halligan presented the Comey case alone, and her signature was the only one on the charging documents—an unusual move in standard DOJ practice.

Internal Shakeups and National Security Concerns

Kelly, who has regularly criticized the DOJ and FBI, continued her campaign across social media, declaring that “you can’t clean up the DOJ without removing the people who helped weaponize it.” She reiterated this in another post on X, framing Ben’Ary’s firing as part of a broader effort to “restore integrity” to the agency.

The Justice Department’s recent personnel shifts come amid what some observers describe as a quiet collapse in national security capacity. A report from Politico detailed the exodus of key counterterrorism figures, including Matt Blue, chief of DOJ’s counterterrorism section, who has been on military leave since August. Blue, a National Guard member, has been deployed in Washington during a wave of federal security deployments following a violent attempted carjacking of a DOJ staffer.

Internally, the Eastern District’s national security section remains small, and the departure of experienced prosecutors like Ben’Ary raises concerns about how complex cases will be handled going forward. One former DOJ national security attorney noted that many offices are operating under strain.

“You have a lot of people looking at each other, wondering who’s in charge,” the former prosecutor said. “There aren’t enough people. And when there aren’t enough people, it makes everything slow down.”

The fallout from the Comey case may be far from over, but for now, the DOJ finds itself navigating political landmines, a leadership vacuum, and a shrinking bench of experienced national security professionals.