Washington: US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked the remaining 46 chief federal prosecutors left over from the Obama administration to resign "in order to ensure a uniform transition," the Justice Department said on Friday.
The New York Times reported that the request from Sessions included Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, who had been expected to stay on. The report cited a person familiar with the matter, and Bharara's office had no comment on it. The Manhattan office handles some of the most critical business and criminal cases passing through the federal judicial system.
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Senate leader calls for Sessions to resign
US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Attorney General Jeff Sessions misled Congress over his contacts with Russia's ambassador and he should resign.
Sessions himself has been called on by Democrats to resign after he made false statements under oath during his confirmation hearings about conversations he had with Russia's ambassador.
US attorneys are political appointees, and the request from the Justice Department under President Donald Trump is part of a routine process, although not every new administration replaces all US attorneys at once.
![Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he will rescue himself from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the ...](/web/20170311180349im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/p/v/k/l/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.guvwnw.png/1489215841497.jpg)
A law enforcement official said Bharara had expected to remain in his post. The official said Bharara had met with both Trump and Sessions and been advised that they wanted him to stay on as Manhattan US Attorney.
The Justice Department statement said: "Until the new US attorneys are confirmed, the dedicated career prosecutors in our US attorney' s offices will continue the great work of the department in investigating, prosecuting, and deterring the most violent offenders."
Robert Capers, US Attorney in Brooklyn, issued a statement saying he had been asked to resign. He said Bridget Rohde, the chief assistant US attorney in that office, would take over his role in an acting capacity.
"It has been my greatest honour to serve my country, New York City and the people of this district for almost 14 years, with the last 17 months serving as United States Attorney," Capers said.
![Preet Bharara, US attorney for the Southern District of New York.](/web/20170311180349im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/k/5/s/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.guvwnw.png/1489215841497.jpg)
It is not unusual for a new president to replace US attorneys appointed by a predecessor, especially when there has been a change in which party controls the White House.
Some presidents have done it gradually, while keeping some inherited prosecutors in place, as it had appeared Trump would do with Bharara.
In 1993, the Clinton administration fired all 93 US attorneys on the same day.
Bharara is among the highest-profile US attorneys, with a purview that includes Wall Street as well as several corruption cases involving New York elected officials or their aides.
Bharara's office is involved in a case related to a top adviser to Governor Andrew Cuomo, and is also probing allegations of pay-for-play around Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York.
Trump invited Bharara to meet with him during a public get-together at Trump Tower during the transition. Afterward, Bharara told reporters that he had been asked to remain on in his job – and that Sessions had asked him to stay on.
A person familiar with the calls that have been made said there was no advance warning of the move. It came less than 24 hours after Sean Hannity, the Fox News commentator who often speaks with Trump, called on his show for a "purge" of Obama appointees at the Justice Department.
Reuters, New York Times and Fairfax Media