Question 1: Are you currently the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia?

Question 2: On November 24, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that your appointment as U.S. Attorney was unlawful. Since then, have you, or anyone else in your office, instructed Assistant U.S. Attorneys to include, with your name, the title “United States Attorney and Special Attorney” on court filings? If the answer is “yes,” please explain how that comports with Judge Currie’s ruling.

Question 3: Can federal prosecutors pick and choose which court orders they will or will not follow?

Question 4: Please describe any experience you had as an attorney in federal court before your nomination for U.S. Attorney, including the number or approximate number of cases in which you entered your appearance. 

Question 5: Please describe your experience prosecuting criminal cases before your nomination for U.S. Attorney. 

Question 6: Please describe your experience presenting cases before a federal grand jury before your nomination for U.S. Attorney.

Question 7: Please explain how you learned that you were President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney.

Question 8: Do you currently reside in the Eastern District of Virginia?

Question 9: Before January 2025, had you ever resided in the state of Virginia?

Question 10: Who is a U.S. Attorney’s client? 

Question 11: What standard should a prosecutor meet before initiating a federal prosecution?

Question 12: If a president orders a prosecutor to initiate a prosecution when the attorney does not believe that standard has been met, should the prosecutor follow the president’s order? Please explain your answer.

Question 13: The Justice Manual states the following:

Over the course of more than four decades, Attorneys General have issued policies governing communications between the Justice Department and the White House. The procedural safeguards that have long guided the Department’s approach to such communications are designed to protect our criminal and civil law enforcement decisions, and our legal judgments, from partisan or other inappropriate influences, whether real or perceived, direct or indirect.

Justice Manual, 1-8.600.

Under that policy, only the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General may have contact with officials at the White House about investigations or prosecutions, except in certain circumstances outlined in the policy.

Since you arrived at the Eastern District of Virginia, have you had any communication with individuals at the White House about investigations or prosecutions? If so, with whom and about what cases? (If you believe a privilege covers these communications, please indicate which privilege applies and provide supportive caselaw.)

Question 14: Do you believe it is proper for the President or White House staffers to have a role in directing federal criminal prosecutions? If so, why?

Question 15: The Justice Manual at 9-27.220 states that a prosecutor “may commence or recommend federal prosecution only if he/she believes that the person will more likely than not be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by an unbiased trier of fact and that the conviction will be upheld on appeal.”

• Do you believe that Justice Department officials must abide by the Justice Manual? If you do not, please explain.
• Prior to presenting the James Comey case before the grand jury, had you read the Principles of Federal Prosecution as outlined in the Justice Manual?

Question 16: Did any career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia provide you with a memo outlining their analysis as to the proper path to proceed with the James Comey investigation or prosecution? If so:

• Did you read the memo?
• Were you orally advised of the recommendations contained in the memo?
• What were the recommendations?
• Did the memo indicate that the threshold prosecution requirement under 9-27.220 of the Justice Manual had been met
• Did you follow the recommendations? Why or why not?
• Were any adverse employment actions taken against any of the career prosecutors who drafted the memo? If so, indicate which prosecutors were affected, and explain what the employment actions were and why they were taken.

Question 17: Did any career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia provide you with a memo outlining their analysis as to the proper path to proceed with the Letitia James case? If so:

• Did you read the memo?
• Were you orally advised of the recommendations contained in the memo?
• What were the recommendations?
• Did the memo indicate that the threshold prosecution requirement under 9-27.220 of the Justice Manual had been met?
• Did you follow the recommendations? Why or why not?
• Were any adverse employment actions taken against any of the career prosecutors who drafted the memo? If so, indicate which prosecutors were affected, and explain what the employment actions were and why they were taken.

Question 18: Why have the James Comey and Letitia James cases been staffed with prosecutors from federal districts outside the Eastern District of Virginia?

Question 19: Since the Letitia James case was dismissed without prejudice, prosecutors acting at your direction have presented the case to grand juries in Norfolk and Alexandria, VA. Each panel no-true billed the case. Why did  you persist in bringing this case before a grand jury if another did not believe probable cause exists, which is an even lower standard than the threshold requirement that the Justice Manual at 9-27.220 requires?

Question 20: Pursuant to 9-11.102(A) of the Justice Manual, after a grand jury returns a no-bill,  “the same matter (i.e., the same transaction or event and the same putative defendant) should not be presented to another grand jury or resubmitted to the same grand jury without first securing the approval of the responsible United States Attorney.” Who was the “responsible United States Attorney” who approved the presentation of the Letitia James matter to a grand jury on December 11, after a grand jury returned a no-bill on December 4?

Question 21: Per public reporting and court filings, you continued to supervise and actively participate in the James Comey and Letitia James prosecutions as “United States Attorney” after Judge Currie’s November 24 order. Please explain how, in doing so, you were complying with that court order.

Question 22: Please explain what “vindictive prosecution” means to you.

Question 23: When is it permissible for a prosecutor to initiate a vindictive prosecution?

Question 24: Please explain what “selective prosecution” means to you.

Question 25: When is it permissible for a prosecutor to initiate a selective prosecution?

Question 26: In the time since your arrival at the Eastern District of Virginia, what efforts have you made to get to know the individual attorneys and other personnel in the office?

• How many meetings have you had with unit supervisors?
• How many times have you met with non-supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Eastern District of Virginia (not including Assistant U.S. Attorneys detailed to the office from other districts) to discuss cases?
• Please share any office-wide emails or memos you have sent to employees of the office.
• Please share the dates you have traveled to meet staff in Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News.

Question 27: Have additional cameras been installed in any Eastern District of Virginia offices since your first day in the district? If so:

• Who ordered their installation?
• Why were they installed?
• Please list the names of the individuals who have viewed any footage they have produced.
• Please explain what the footage has been used for.

Question 28: At any point since you started in the Eastern District of Virginia, have you had a personal security detail? If you have:

• What is the reason for the security detail?
• Who ordered the detail to be provided?
• When did the detail start?
• How many security officials are in the detail (please include a range if necessary)?
• How is the detail being funded?
• Does the detail stay with you within the confines of the U.S. Attorney’s Office?
• Within the office, does the detail clear the front entry and elevator of office staff before you enter these spaces? If so, why?
• Does the detail drive you to and from the U.S. Attorney’s Office?
• Does the detail drive you to and from other locations?
• How many Justice Department officials who work in any of the 93 U.S. Attorney’s Offices currently have a security detail?

Question 29: Do you believe that Assistant U.S. Attorneys are afforded protections under the Whistleblower Protection Act? If you do, please summarize those protections.

Question 30: Do you believe that Assistant U.S. Attorneys are afforded protections under the Civil Service Reform Act? If you do, please summarize those protections.

Question 31: How many permanent Assistant U.S. Attorneys worked in the Eastern District of Virginia on the day you started in the district?

Question 32: How many permanent Assistant U.S. Attorneys work there now?

Question 33: Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ben’Ary was the Eastern District of Virginia’s Chief of National Security before he was summarily fired. How many times did you meet with him before his termination?

Question 34: Michael Ben’Ary was the lead prosecutor in United States v. Sharifullah, 1:25-cr-00143 (E.D. Va.), which is the Justice Department’s sole prosecution against someone alleged to have been responsible for planning the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan in 2021, which killed 13 U.S. servicemembers. Ben’Ary was terminated on October 1, 2025, just weeks before the case was scheduled to proceed to jury selection.

• Since his termination, what steps have you taken to ensure the proper transition of this case?
• Why was the case delayed?

Question 35: Whose decision was it to terminate Michael Ben’Ary?

• Did his termination follow the legal requirements of the Civil Service Reform Act?
• What notice was he provided prior to his termination?
• What opportunity to be heard was he provided before he was terminated?

Question 36: Whose decision was it to terminate former Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi?

• Did her termination follow the legal requirements of the Civil Service Reform Act?
• What notice was she provided prior to her termination?
• What opportunity to be heard was she provided before she was terminated?

Question 37: Whose decision was it to terminate former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bird?

• Did her termination follow the legal requirements of the Civil Service Reform Act?
• What notice was she provided prior to her termination?
• What opportunity to be heard was she provided before she was terminated?

Question 38: Whose decision was it to terminate former Assistant U.S. Attorney Maya Song?

• Did her termination follow the legal requirements of the Civil Service Reform Act?
• What notice was she provided prior to her termination?
• What opportunity to be heard was she provided before she was terminated?

Question 39: You have argued that maintaining the secrecy of proceedings and government conduct before grand juries is of paramount importance.

• Why did you discuss legal matters related to the Eastern District of Virginia in a Signal chat with Anna Bower, a journalist from Lawfare?
• When communicating on Signal about matters involving the Eastern District of Virginia, do you ever use self-deleting messages? If so:
  • • How often?
    • Did you use self-deleting messages during your communications with Anna Bower?
    • How do you preserve these messages?
• Explain how your use of Signal  to communicate about legal matters involving the Eastern District of Virginia complies with the Federal Records Act, which governs the retention and management of federal records.
• Explain how your use of Signal preserves potentially discoverable communications in prosecutions.

Question 40: Do you have a Truth Social account? If you do, during your tenure with the Eastern District of Virginia, has President Trump messaged you directly on that account?

Question 41: During your tenure with the Eastern District of Virginia, has President Trump messaged you directly on any other messaging platform? If so, please explain.

Question 42: Has the White House or anyone within Justice Department leadership directed you to pursue “leak” (or unauthorized disclosure) investigations? If so:

• Who directed you to do so and on what occasions?
• Please describe the alleged leak (or unauthorized disclosure) in each case.
• Please list any individuals or entities you were directed to investigate.

Question 43: The Eastern District of Virginia carries out some of the nation’s most sensitive and high-profile national security investigations and prosecutions.

• Please describe your experience handling national security investigations and prosecutions.
• What was the status of your security clearance on the day you started in the district?
• What is the current status of your security clearance?
• If you have received a security clearance, describe the process you completed before receiving it.
• Have you met with the Eastern District of Virginia’s National Security and International Crimes Section? If so, list the dates of the meeting(s).
• Early in your tenure with the office, the chief of that section was terminated and the deputy chief resigned. Is there an individual(s) who is currently performing the duties of the chief and the deputy chief? If so:
  • • Who is that individual(s)?
    • When did they begin performing those duties?
    • Do they have other roles in the office as well?

Question 44: Because of the Eastern District of Virginia’s prominent role in handling national security cases, a vital aspect of its work involves developing close relationships with intelligence community partners in the district, such as the CIA, NSA and Department of Defense. What efforts have you made to develop interagency relationships with intelligence partners?

Question 45: Your office is currently defending an appeal after a 2024–2025 investigation, prosecution, and conviction of the captain of an interdicted maritime vessel sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment (United States  v. Muhammad Pahlawan, 3:24-cr-41 (E.D. Va.)). What efforts have you undertaken to ensure continued counterterrorism efforts as it relates to international maritime interdictions or distressed mariners?