By Steve Neavling
The Trump administration has fired Michael Ben’Ary, chief of the national security section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, after a pro-Trump activist falsely tied him to the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey.
Ben’Ary was dismissed Wednesday, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. The move followed a post on X by conservative writer Julie Kelly, who wrote: “One can only assume he was a big part of the internal resistance to the Comey indictment.”
Ben’Ary wasn’t involved in the case, one source told CNN.
Comey was indicted last week on two felony counts despite concerns from career prosecutors that the evidence didn’t support charges. Before the indictment, President Donald Trump ousted his own U.S. attorney nominee in Virginia and installed his former personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, after urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after political enemies, including Comey.
Neither the Justice Department nor the Virginia office responded to requests for comment. Ben’Ary did not respond to a message sent to his LinkedIn account.
The firing is the latest in a wave of Justice Department purges that have followed attacks from MAGA influencers online. Last month, three former FBI agents filed a lawsuit alleging they were targeted after pro-Trump social media campaigns.
