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U.S. Attorney Was Forced Out After Clashes Over How to Handle Russia Inquiry
U.S. Attorney Was Forced Out After Clashes Over How to Handle Russia Inquiry
The departures of Todd Gilbert and his deputy in the Western District of Virginia show the pressure being brought on prosecutors to pursue the president’s perceived foes.
Todd Gilbert, a Republican, was a longtime legislator in Virginia until he was sworn in as the top prosecutor for the state’s western district in July. Steve Helber/Associated Press
By Devlin Barrett and Michael S. Schmidt
Devlin Barrett reported from Washington, and Michael S. Schmidt from New York.
Oct. 14, 2025
Career prosecutors at the Justice Department do not believe criminal charges are warranted from an investigation seeking to discredit an earlier F.B.I. inquiry into Russia’s attempt to tilt the 2016 election in President Trump’s favor, according to people familiar with the matter. … It leaves unclear what political appointees at the Justice Department might do, given the breadth of Mr. Trump’s demands that it pursue people he perceives as enemies. Already, the U.S. attorney in the Western District of Virginia overseeing the case, Todd Gilbert, was forced to resign in August because he refused to sideline a high-ranking career prosecutor who found the evidence flimsy, the people familiar with the matter said.
Senior Justice Department officials had ordered Mr. Gilbert to open a grand jury investigation into whether anyone at F.B.I. headquarters during and after the Biden administration had mishandled classified documents related to the Russia investigation that Mr. Trump has long decried as a “witch hunt” against him.
Even as news of Mr. Gilbert’s departure over the summer raised concerns about turmoil inside the Justice Department, the events leading up to it have remained unclear until now. The new details highlight how Mr. Trump’s push for criminal prosecutions of those he sees as enemies has led to crises inside multiple U.S. attorneys’ offices, in this instance dooming a top prosecutor in the Western District of Virginia, based in Roanoke. Similar disputes consumed Mr. Gilbert’s counterpart in eastern Virginia, Erik S. Siebert, in recent weeks.
{snip}
Shortly after Mr. Gilbert took over as U.S. attorney, senior Justice Department officials instructed him to open an investigation into the handling of secret documents related to Russian intelligence reports, these people said. … After reviewing the evidence, Mr. Gilbert told his superiors that he did not believe there was sufficient evidence to justify a grand jury investigation, these people said. Frustrated by that answer, aides to Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, blamed a senior career attorney in the office who they believed had swayed Mr. Gilbert: Zachary Lee, a veteran prosecutor with more than two decades of experience involving public corruption and narcotics, among other issues.
{snip}
Devlin Barrett covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The Times.
Michael S. Schmidt is an investigative reporter for The Times covering Washington. His work focuses on tracking and explaining high-profile federal investigations.
The departures of Todd Gilbert and his deputy in the Western District of Virginia show the pressure being brought on prosecutors to pursue the president’s perceived foes.
Todd Gilbert, a Republican, was a longtime legislator in Virginia until he was sworn in as the top prosecutor for the state’s western district in July. Steve Helber/Associated Press
By Devlin Barrett and Michael S. Schmidt
Devlin Barrett reported from Washington, and Michael S. Schmidt from New York.
Oct. 14, 2025
Career prosecutors at the Justice Department do not believe criminal charges are warranted from an investigation seeking to discredit an earlier F.B.I. inquiry into Russia’s attempt to tilt the 2016 election in President Trump’s favor, according to people familiar with the matter. … It leaves unclear what political appointees at the Justice Department might do, given the breadth of Mr. Trump’s demands that it pursue people he perceives as enemies. Already, the U.S. attorney in the Western District of Virginia overseeing the case, Todd Gilbert, was forced to resign in August because he refused to sideline a high-ranking career prosecutor who found the evidence flimsy, the people familiar with the matter said.
Senior Justice Department officials had ordered Mr. Gilbert to open a grand jury investigation into whether anyone at F.B.I. headquarters during and after the Biden administration had mishandled classified documents related to the Russia investigation that Mr. Trump has long decried as a “witch hunt” against him.
Even as news of Mr. Gilbert’s departure over the summer raised concerns about turmoil inside the Justice Department, the events leading up to it have remained unclear until now. The new details highlight how Mr. Trump’s push for criminal prosecutions of those he sees as enemies has led to crises inside multiple U.S. attorneys’ offices, in this instance dooming a top prosecutor in the Western District of Virginia, based in Roanoke. Similar disputes consumed Mr. Gilbert’s counterpart in eastern Virginia, Erik S. Siebert, in recent weeks.
{snip}
Shortly after Mr. Gilbert took over as U.S. attorney, senior Justice Department officials instructed him to open an investigation into the handling of secret documents related to Russian intelligence reports, these people said. … After reviewing the evidence, Mr. Gilbert told his superiors that he did not believe there was sufficient evidence to justify a grand jury investigation, these people said. Frustrated by that answer, aides to Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, blamed a senior career attorney in the office who they believed had swayed Mr. Gilbert: Zachary Lee, a veteran prosecutor with more than two decades of experience involving public corruption and narcotics, among other issues.
{snip}
Devlin Barrett covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The Times.
Michael S. Schmidt is an investigative reporter for The Times covering Washington. His work focuses on tracking and explaining high-profile federal investigations.