The Department of Justice fired longtime litigator James Hundley from his appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia just hours after federal judges unanimously appointed him to the position.
Chief U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck signed off on Hundley’s appointment Friday evening and administered the oath of office in Richmond, Virginia, according to court documents.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on X shortly afterward that Hundley had been fired.
“Here we go again. EDVA judges do not pick our US Attorney. POTUS does. James Hundley, you’re fired!” Blanche said in the post.
Hundley said in a statement to NBC News that "despite my dismissal by the President, I will continue to support our country and its justice system in any way I can."
"It was a great honor to be appointed by the Court as Interim United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia," Hundley said in the statement. "I’ve been practicing law in Virginia for many years and have always held the Court and the United States Attorney’s Office in the highest regard."
Hundley’s appointment to the Eastern District of Virginia followed the departure of Trump loyalist Lindsey Halligan, who left the job in late January after a federal judge ruled that she held the role unlawfully.
Halligan, who was a former insurance attorney with no prosecutorial experience, led unsuccessful cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, both perceived Trump foes.
Federal law allows judges to appoint a U.S. attorney if a presidential nominee has not been confirmed within 120 days of their appointment.
This is not the first time the Justice Department has fired a U.S. attorney appointed by federal judges.
In July, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Desiree Leigh Grace after she was appointed as U.S. attorney for New Jersey. Grace was set to succeed the state’s interim U.S. attorney, Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump.
Just last week, New York prosecutor Donald Kinsella was fired by the Justice Department the same day he had been appointed by federal judges to serve as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York.
Kinsella told NBC News that he was fired after receiving an email from the White House saying the “president directed that I be removed.”
In both cases, federal judges appointed U.S. attorneys after a judge had ruled that the interim U.S. attorney appointed by Trump was serving in the role unlawfully.
Hundley has more than 30 years of experience litigating complex criminal and civil cases, having represented clients in state and federal courts across Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. He has successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and has been appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court to serve as a council member at large to the Virginia State Bar.
