Maryland’s top federal prosecutor could be in President Donald Trump’s crosshairs as he steps up calls to prosecute political opponents.

Kelly O. Hayes, a career prosecutor named by Trump in March to run the state’s U.S. attorney’s office, is overseeing investigations of at least two Trump critics: U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, and former national security adviser John Bolton, who served under Trump and later turned into a fierce critic of the president. So far, her office has not lodged any charges.

Last week, Hayes’ former counterpart in the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, resigned under pressure from Trump after opting not to pursue indictments against two of the president’s foes, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey. Trump then spoke openly about wanting federal prosecutors to take action on such cases.

“I just want people to act. They have to act,” Trump told reporters outside the White House Saturday evening. “We have to act fast.”

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Trump administration officials have “ramped up pressure” on Hayes. The Washington Post reported Monday she had met in recent weeks with Ed Martin, a Trump loyalist and Justice Department appointee who has been aggressive in his pursuit of accusations of mortgage fraud against Schiff.

A source familiar with concerns in the office told The Banner that federal investigators working in Maryland were being urged to act quickly in these investigations. But the source said that was prompting concerns about whether basic investigatory steps and procedures were being rushed and whether such actions could jeopardize their law licenses.

Another source said the case against Schiff was considered weak by insiders and that prosecutors have “gently said so” to superiors in Washington.

“Nobody seems to care when we raise that,” one top official in the Maryland prosecutor’s office told an associate, according to a third source. The sources familiar with the inner workings of the office asked not to be identified for fear of retribution.

Through a spokesperson, Hayes declined a request for comment from The Banner.

Who is Kelly O. Hayes?

A Montgomery County native and graduate of the University of Maryland, Hayes has been with the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office since 2013, and rose to chief of the Southern Division in Greenbelt before reaching the top job.

A Republican, she was seen as a largely nonpartisan selection at a time when local prosecutors fretted that Trump would install a loyalist outsider. Prior to her selection, many in the local legal community believed that former Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox, who had been endorsed by Trump during his primary run, was the likely pick.

Hayes was appointed to the Maryland position on an interim basis by Attorney General Pam Bondi in March, succeeding the Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney Erek Barron.

Trump has not formally nominated Hayes for the position. But under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, if a successor isn’t nominated and confirmed after 120 days, it falls to the district court judges to appoint a U.S. attorney to serve until the confirmation of his or her successor. And Maryland’s federal bench did so, voting to appoint Hayes in June and swearing her in as U.S. attorney.

Hayes has been trying to keep a low profile and stay off Washington’s radar, according to people familiar with her work. She’s held one press conference in conjunction with AARP for a campaign about elder abuse and appeared at National Night Out in East Baltimore.

Trump weighs in

Schiff, a Democrat who as a congressman led the first impeachment inquiry against Trump, is reportedly under investigation by a Maryland grand jury for mortgage-related charges. He’s accused of claiming two primary residences for financial advantages.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte sent a referral letter to Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on May 27 detailing “multiple instances” between 2003 and 2019 in which he said Schiff allegedly “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments” for property he owns in Maryland. Schiff’s Potomac home was reclassified as a secondary residence when he refinanced in October 2020.

“This is just Donald Trump’s latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies,” Schiff wrote in a post on the social media site X in July. “So it is not a surprise, only how weak this false allegation turns out to be. And much as Trump may hope, this smear will not distract from his Epstein files problem.”

In a since-deleted social media post on Truth Social last week, Trump wrote to his own attorney general: “Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’”

He concluded the post: “We can’t delay any long, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

Asked by reporters if he was upset with Bondi, Trump said he “just [wants] people to act.”

“One way or the other. They’re guilty. They’re not guilty,” he said. “We have to act fast. If they’re not guilty, that’s fine. If they are guilty or if they should be judged, they should be charged. And we have to do it now.”

Meanwhile, the FBI raided Bolton’s Bethesda home on Aug. 22. The related warrant alleged there was probable cause for a search because federal authorities believed the home was being used to store classified and national defense information.

According to the search warrant affidavit from the FBI’s Baltimore field office, a National Security Council official had reviewed the manuscript for “The Room Where It Happened,” Bolton’s 2020 memoir of his time under Trump, and told Bolton that it appeared to contain “significant amounts” of classified information, including some considered top secret.

Bolton’s attorney Abbe Lowell has said Bolton had ordinary records reflecting a 40-year career in government and that the Justice Department was “under pressure to satisfy a president out for political revenge.”

Lawmakers respond

In Virginia, Trump replaced the federal prosecutor with former defense attorney Lindsey Halligan, an insurance lawyer with no previous prosecutorial experience who as a special assistant to the president was tasked with removing “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution. Trump’s pressure on the Justice Department has federal lawmakers from Maryland concerned.

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat who previously served as a prosecutor for 13 years, said while she wasn’t familiar with Hayes’ work, she knows prosecutors swear to uphold justice, not seek retribution.

“That’s the end of it,” she said. “We don’t respond to any other agenda other than that one.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said Monday that Hayes has a reputation as a professional who applies the law and “operates in a nonpartisan way,” calling what happened with Siebert “a very dangerous road” for those who believe in the rule of law.

One former Maryland federal prosecutor, who did not want to be named, said they had confidence that Hayes wouldn’t prosecute a case for the wrong reasons.

“Kelly’s going to do what Erik Siebert did and what all prosecutors are required to do, which is follow the facts and the law,” the former official said. “She’s not going to charge anybody if the case doesn’t merit prosecution.”

Banner reporter Brenda Wintrode and the Associated Press contributed to this report.