The top national security official in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has been dismissed amid mounting scrutiny over his ties to former Biden administration Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
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Michael Ben’Ary was informed of his termination on Wednesday, just hours after investigative reporter Julie Kelly posted on X highlighting his past role as a senior advisor to Monaco. Kelly described Monaco as having “helped manufacture the Russiagate hoax, prosecute 1,600 Americans who protested Joe Biden on Jan. 6 including unlawfully using 1512(c)(2), and trying to throw President Trump in jail.”
A 20-year veteran of federal law enforcement, Ben’Ary’s firing renewed attention on Monaco, a longtime Obama-Biden official frequently criticized by Trump allies, who accuse her of targeting Trump and threatening to indict top Republicans over January 6. She was also part of the Obama-era team that secretly met at the White House in 2016 to discuss how to pursue Trump in the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.
Another senior prosecutor, Maya Song — formerly deputy to Erik Siebert, who was ousted two weeks ago under pressure from Trump — was dismissed last Friday by Siebert’s successor, Lindsey Halligan. Song had earlier accepted a demotion after Siebert’s resignation for refusing to bring charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Her firing also followed criticism over her prior service under Monaco during the Biden administration.
The Eastern District of Virginia is one of the nation’s most prominent prosecutorial offices, handling many of the federal government’s most sensitive national security cases.
