Top US prosecutor who probed Trump’s allies fired

A stand-off over the independence of one of the country's most important prosecutor's offices ended on Saturday when Geoffrey Berman agreed to step down as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the office that had been investigating President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani. Berman's confirmation of his departure came after Attorney General William Barr told him he had been fired by Trump at Barr's request. Berman's office, which is known for prosecuting the most high profile terrorism cases, Wall Street financial crimes and government corruption, has not shied from taking on figures in Trump's orbit. It oversaw the prosecution of Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, indicted two Giuliani associates and launched a probe into Giuliani in connection with his efforts to dig up dirt on Trump's political adversaries in Ukraine. Giuliani has not formally been accused of any wrongdoing.

Source: AFP