Epstein case prosecutor sacked after job stand-off

DONALD TRUMP has fired the US prosecutor who accused the Duke of York of failing to co-operate with the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

Geoffrey Berman, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, refused to step down after being asked to do so by Bill Barr, the US Attorney General, on Friday.

In a statement issued last night, Mr Barr said: “I have asked the president to remove you as of today, and he has done so.” He also said that Mr Berman had “chosen public spectacle over public service” by refusing to resign.

Mr Berman was leading the investigation into Epstein’s potential coconspirators, and has claimed the Duke “shut the door” on helping.

Royal insiders have responded that it was Mr Berman who made it “virtually impossible” for the Duke to co-operate with the Epstein investigation.

Mr Trump is nominating Jay Clayton, a lawyer who is currently chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as Mr Berman’s successor. That could potentially open up new prospects of communication with the Duke’s lawyers.

Mr Clayton studied economics at the University of Cambridge in the early Nineties.

Mr Berman’s office previously oversaw the prosecution of Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s former personal lawyer.

His office has also reportedly been investigating business dealings of Rudy Giuliani, the president’s current personal lawyer, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent. No formal allegations have been made.

On Friday, Mr Berman said: “I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning.” He then showed up to work in Manhattan yesterday.

John Bolton, Mr Trump’s former national security adviser, has claimed that the president sought to interfere in a Southern District of New York investigation into a state-owned Turkish bank. The White House has disputed allegations in Mr Bolton’s book.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat in the US Senate, said the dismissal “reeks of potential corruption of the legal process.” He added: “What is angering President Trump? A previous action by this US Attorney, or one that is ongoing?”

There was no immediate response to Mr Schumer’s comments.