“Attorney William Barr said on Saturday that President Trump had fired the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, who has investigated the president’s closest associates, deepening a crisis over the independence of law enforcement and the president’s purge of officials he views as disloyal,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump removed the prosecutor, Geoffrey S. Berman, United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, after he had refused to step down on Friday night. The president’s announcement capped an extraordinary clash over an office that has been at the forefront of corruption inquiries into Mr. Trump’s inner circle.”
Barr said Berman had “chosen public spectacle over public service,” while adding, “Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so.”
Wall Street Journal: “The matter is nearly certain to end up in court, as the legal grounds for removing a sitting U.S. Attorney remain murky.”

