By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. attorney whose office has been investigating mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James has been told to resign or be fired, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press Friday. This comes amid a push by Trump administration officials to bring criminal charges against the perceived adversary of the president.

The move to replace Erik Siebert, a career prosecutor in the prestigious Eastern District of Virginia, was described by a person who was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. It was unclear who told Siebert he was being removed, what reason was given or who might replace him.

Spokespeople for Seibert’s office and the Justice Department declined to comment Friday.

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The development comes as Trump administration officials have been aggressively pursuing allegations against James arising from alleged paperwork discrepancies on her Brooklyn townhouse and a Virginia home. The Justice Department has spent months conducting the investigation but has yet to bring charges, and it’s not clear that prosecutors have managed to uncover any degree of incriminating evidence necessary to secure an indictment.

To the extent the effort to replace Siebert is designed to hasten criminal charges, the move is likely to deepen concerns that the department — already investigating other public figures President Donald Trump regards as foes — is being weaponized by a White House seeking to have its prosecutorial powers used for purposes of retribution.

James’ lawyers have vigorously denied any allegations and characterized the investigation as an act of political revenge.

ABC News was first to report that Trump administration officials were pressuring prosecutors to bring charges and that the Republican administration was preparing to oust Siebert, who was nominated by Trump to the top job in the office after having worked there for more than a decade.

James has long been a particular source of outrage for Trump, in part because of a civil lawsuit she filed against him and his company that resulted in a massive financial penalty. That penalty was thrown out last month by an appeals court that narrowly upheld a judge’s finding that Trump had engaged in fraud by exaggerating his wealth for decades.

The case has taken a series of unorthodox turns. It emerged last month that Ed Martin, who helms the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group and is helping coordinate the investigation, had sent a letter urging James to resign from office “as an act of good faith” after starting his mortgage fraud investigation of her. He later turned up outside James’ Brooklyn townhouse in a “Columbo”-esque trench coat. A New York Post writer at the scene observed him tell a neighbor: “I’m just looking at houses, interesting houses. It’s an important house.”

James’ lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told Martin in a letter that the request for James’ resignation defied Justice Department standards and codes of professional responsibility and legal ethics.

The Justice Department “has firm policies against using investigations and against using prosecutorial power for achieving political ends,” Lowell wrote. “This is ever more the case when that demand is made to seek political revenge against a public official in the opposite party.”

A former District of Columbia police officer, Siebert had joined the Eastern District of Virginia — an elite Justice Department prosecution office with a history of sophisticated national security and criminal cases — in 2010. He was nominated to the role of U.S. attorney by Trump this year with the backing of the state’s two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

Although U.S. attorneys are presidential appointees, they are rarely fired. But the Trump administration has repeatedly disregarded norms and traditions meant to insulate Justice Department prosecutors from White House political influence. Prosecutors and other support personnel who worked on the special counsel team of Jack Smith that investigated and prosecuted Trump have been fired, as was Maurene Comey, whose father, former FBI Director James Comey, was terminated by Trump months into his first term amid the Russia election interference investigation.

Martin’s investigation stems from a letter Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi in April asking her to investigate and consider prosecuting James, alleging she had “falsified bank documents and property records.”

Pulte, whose agency regulates mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, cited “media reports” claiming James had falsely listed a Virginia home as her principal residence, and he suggested she may have been trying to avoid higher interest rates that often apply to second homes.

Records show James was listed as a co-borrower on a house her niece was buying in 2023. Lowell said records and correspondence easily disproved Pulte’s allegation. While James signed a power-of-attorney form that, Lowell said, “mistakenly stated the property to be Ms. James’ principal residence,” she sent an email to her mortgage loan broker around the same time that made clear the property “WILL NOT be my primary residence.”

Pulte also accused James of lying in property records about the number of apartments in the Brooklyn townhouse she has owned since 2001.

A certificate of occupancy issued to a previous owner authorized up to five units in the building, where James lives and has rented out apartments. Other city records show the townhouse has four units, a number James has listed in building permit applications and mortgage documents.

Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak in New York contributed to this report.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A Florida federal judge on Friday tossed out a 15 billion defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against The New York Times.

U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday ruled that Trump’s lawsuit was overly long and was full of “tedious and burdensome” language that had no bearing on the legal case.

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“A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally,” Merryday wrote in a four-page order. “This action will begin, will continue, and will end in accord with the rules of procedure and in a professional and dignified manner.”

The judge ruled that Trump has 28 days to file an amended complaint that should not exceed 40 pages in length.

The lawsuit named a book and an article written by Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig that focuses on Trump’s finances and his pre-presidency starring role in television’s “The Apprentice.”

Trump said in the lawsuit that they “maliciously peddled the fact-free narrative” that television producer Mark Burnett turned Trump into a celebrity — “even though at and prior to the time of publications defendants knew that President Trump was already a mega-celebrity and an enormous success in business.”

The lawsuit also attacked claims the reporters made about Trump’s early business dealings and his father, Fred.

Trump also cited an article by Peter Baker last Oct. 20 headlined “For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment.”

By JON GAMBRELL and MUNIR AHMED, Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Pakistan’s defense minister says his nation’s nuclear program “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia if needed under the countries’ new defense pact, marking the first specific acknowledgment that Islamabad had put the kingdom under its nuclear umbrella.

Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif’s comments underline the importance of the pact struck this week between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have had military ties for decades.

The move is seen by analysts as a signal to Israel, long believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed nation. It comes after Israel’s attack targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar last week killed six people and sparked new concerns among Gulf Arab nations about their safety as the Israel-Hamas war devastated the Gaza Strip and set the region on edge.

Minister’s remarks touch on the nuclear program

Speaking to Geo TV in an interview late Thursday night, Asif made the comments while answering a question on whether “the deterrence that Pakistan gets from nuclear weapons” will be made available to Saudi Arabia.

“Let me make one point clear about Pakistan’s nuclear capability: that capability was established long ago when we conducted tests. Since then, we have forces trained for the battlefield,” Asif said.

“What we have, and the capabilities we possess, will be made available to (Saudi Arabia) according to this agreement,” he added.

The two countries signed a defense deal Wednesday declaring that an attack on one nation would be an attack on both.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, with which both nations have monitoring agreements, did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the Pakistani defense minister’s remarks. Asif criticized Israel in the interview for not fully disclosing its suspected nuclear weapons program to the IAEA.

The pact comes after Israel’s attack on Qatar

Israel has not commented on the two nations’ defense pact. Pakistan long has criticized Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, but has not been directly involved in any war against it. And while neither nation has diplomatic ties to Israel, American officials had sought to mediate a diplomatic recognition deal involving Saudi Arabia before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war.

“We have not named any country whose attack would automatically trigger a retaliatory response. Neither has Saudi Arabia named any country, nor have we,” Asif said in the interview. “This is an umbrella arrangement offered to one another by both sides: if there is aggression against either party — from any side — it will be jointly defended, and the aggression will be met with a response.”

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The deal came a week after the attack in Doha as Gulf Arab countries weigh how to defend themselves. Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023, have stretched across Iran, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria and Yemen.

Asked if others could join the pact, the minister added: “I can say the door is not closed to others.”

That idea was repeated by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.

“It is premature to say anything, but after this development, other countries have also expressed a desire for similar arrangements,” Dar told reporters in London in televised remarks. “Such things follow due process. Even with Saudi Arabia, it took several months to finalize.”

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have longstanding ties

Saudi Arabia has long been linked to Pakistan’s nuclear program. Retired Pakistani Brig. Gen. Feroz Hassan Khan has said Saudi Arabia provided “generous financial support to Pakistan that enabled the nuclear program to continue, especially when the country was under sanctions.” Pakistan faced U.S. sanctions for years over its pursuit of the bomb, and saw new ones imposed over its ballistic missile work at the end of the Biden administration.

Pakistan developed its nuclear weapons program to counter India’s atomic bombs. The two neighbors have fought multiple wars against each other, and again came close to open warfare after an attack on tourists in April in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India is believed to have an estimated 172 nuclear warheads, while Pakistan has 170, according to the U.S.-published Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

Pakistan’s Shaheen 3 ballistic missile, believed to be able to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, has a maximum range of 2,750 kilometers (1,700 miles) — making it capable of reaching Israel.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/

By GEIR MOULSON and ANDREW WILKS, Associated Press

Estonia summoned a Russian diplomat to protest after three Russian fighter aircraft entered its airspace without permission Friday and stayed there for 12 minutes, the Foreign Ministry said, just over a week after NATO planes downed Russian drones over Poland and heightened fears that the war in Ukraine could spill over.

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Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna said that Russia violated Estonian airspace four times this year “but today’s incursion, involving three fighter aircraft entering our airspace, is unprecedentedly brazen.”

Russian officials did not immediately comment.

Russia’s violation of Poland’s airspace was the most serious cross-border incident into a NATO member country since the war in Ukraine began with Russia’s all-out invasion in February 2022. Other alliance countries have reported similar incursions and drone crashes on their territory.

The developments have increasingly rattled European governments as U.S.-led efforts to stop the war in Ukraine have come to nothing.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called Friday’s incursion “an extremely dangerous provocation” that “further escalates tensions in the region.”

Estonia, along with other Baltic states Lithuania and Latvia, are seen as being among the most likely targets if Russia one day decides to risk an attack on NATO. Neighboring Poland, though much larger, also feels vulnerable. All four countries are staunch supporters of Ukraine.

Italian F-35 fighter jets respond to Russian incursion

The Russian MIG-31 fighters entered Estonian airspace in the area of Vaindloo Island, which is a small island located in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, the Estonian military said in a separate statement.

The aircraft did not have flight plans and their transponders were turned off, the statement said, nor were the aircraft in two-way radio communication with Estonian air traffic services.

Italian Air Force F-35 fighter jets, currently deployed as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission, responded to the incident, according to the statement.

Separately, Maj. Taavi Karotamm, spokesperson for Estonian Defense Forces, told The Associated Press the Russian planes flew parallel to the Estonian border from East to West and did not head toward the country’s capital Tallinn.

“Russia’s increasingly extensive testing of boundaries and growing aggressiveness must be met with a swift increase in political and economic pressure,” Tsakhna, the foreign minister, said.

The Russian charge d’affaires was summoned and given a protest note, a ministry statement said.

British spy chief says ‘no evidence’ Putin wants peace

Earlier Friday, the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency said there is “absolutely no evidence” that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin wants to negotiate peace in Ukraine.

Richard Moore, chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6 as it is more commonly known, said Putin was “stringing us along.”

“He seeks to impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal. But he cannot succeed,” Moore said. “Bluntly, Putin has bitten off more than he can chew. He thought he was going to win an easy victory. But he – and many others – underestimated the Ukrainians.”

The war has continued unabated in the three years since Russia invaded its neighbor. Ukraine has accepted proposals for a ceasefire and a summit meeting, but Moscow has demurred.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday during a state visit to the United Kingdom that Putin “ has really let me down ” in peace efforts.

Putin is ‘mortgaging the future’ of Russia

Moore was speaking at the British consulate in Istanbul after five years as head of MI6. He leaves the post at the end of September. The agency will then get its first female chief.

Moore said the invasion had strengthened Ukrainian national identity and accelerated its westward trajectory, as well as pushing Sweden and Finland to join NATO.

“Putin has sought to convince the world that Russian victory is inevitable. But he lies. He lies to the world. He lies to his people. Perhaps he even lies to himself,” Moore told a news conference.

He said that Putin was “mortgaging his country’s future for his own personal legacy and a distorted version of history” and the war was “accelerating this decline.”

Analysts say Putin believes he can outlast the political commitment of Ukraine’s Western partners and win a protracted war of attrition by wearing down Ukraine’s smaller army with sheer weight of numbers.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is racing to expand its defense cooperation with other countries and secure billions of dollars of investment in its domestic weapons industry.

MI6 unveils dark web portal

The spy chief was speaking as MI6 unveiled a dark web portal to allow potential intelligence providers to contact the service. Dubbed “ Silent Courier,” the secure messaging platform aims to recruit new spies for the U.K., including in Russia.

“To those men and women in Russia who have truths to share and the courage to share them, I invite you to contact MI6,” Moore said.

Not just Russians but “anyone, anywhere in the world” would be able to use the portal to offer sensitive information on terrorism or “hostile intelligence activity,” he said.

AP European security correspondent Emma Burrows in Vilnius, Lithuania contributed.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine