The attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has asked for the resignations of 46 US attorneys who were appointed during the prior presidential administration, the justice department said on Friday. The dismissal includes Preet Bharara, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan who had been asked by Trump to stay on in November. The Obama administration allowed political appointees of President George W Bush to serve until their replacements had been nominated and confirmed. Federal prosecutors are nominated by the president, generally upon the recommendation of a home-state senator. “I’m surprised to hear that President Trump and Attorney General Sessions have abruptly fired all 46 remaining US attorneys,” she said.

Source: The Guardian March 10, 2017 22:00 UTC