Geoffrey Berman, who has prosecuted Donald Trump’s associates, discovered he was apparently resigning through a press release.
The prosecutor leading the Jeffrey Epstein investigation who accused Prince Andrew of failing to co-operate has refused to step down after the US Justice Department announced he was resigning.
US attorney general William Barr said Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney in Manhattan, was resigning late on Friday night.
But Mr Berman said he had no intention of standing down and investigations he is involved in will continue « without delay or interruption ».
The lawyer accused the Duke of York of « shutting the door » on his investigation into convicted sex offender Epstein, who died last year.
His office has prosecuted a number of Donald Trump’s associates, including his former lawyer Michael Cohen, and is investigating his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, over his efforts to dig up dirt on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son in Ukraine.
The dramatic standoff marks the latest in a series of unusual actions by Mr Barr, which critics say are meant to benefit the president politically and undermine the independence of the Justice Department.
Mr Trump has tried to purge officials perceived as not fully supportive of him, sacking a series of agency watchdogs over the past few weeks, including one who played a key role in his impeachment earlier this year.
