A US prosecutor resigned from his position after President Trump expressed his desire to have him removed. The incident took place last Friday in Washington, DC, involving US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who was overseeing several sensitive investigations involving Trump’s associates.
According to sources, Attorney General William Barr informed Berman that Trump was firing him at Barr’s request. However, Berman refused to step down and stated that he learned of his supposed removal from Barr’s press release. In response, Barr then said that Trump had fired Berman, and Barr intended to replace him with the current chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton.
Trump declared on Saturday that he was not involved in the decision and that it was all Barr’s doing. He told reporters that he was not following the matter closely but understood Barr was working on it, adding that he was not personally involved. Yet, Trump voiced his sentiment about the situation, saying, “I’m not involved in it. That’s the attorney general. Attorney General Barr is working on that. That’s his department, not my department. But we have a very capable attorney general, so that’s really up to him. I’m not involved.”
This incident sparked concerns about the independence of the Justice Department from the White House’s influence, especially regarding sensitive investigations. Berman’s involvement in cases related to Trump’s current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and the open case against Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, raised eyebrows amidst his forced resignation.
Both the White House and the Justice Department have not provided further comments on the matter, highlighting potential tensions within the government over Berman’s sudden departure.
Sources Analysis:
– Source 1 (The White House and President Trump): The White House and Trump have a history of bias in favor of the President’s interests, which may make their statements regarding the resignation of the US prosecutor questionable.
– Source 2 (Attorney General William Barr): Barr has faced criticism for decisions perceived as protecting Trump’s interests, potentially influencing his role and statements in this situation.
Fact Check:
– US Attorney Geoffrey Berman resigned: Verified fact. Berman issued a statement confirming his resignation.
– President Trump expressed his desire to have Berman removed: Verified fact. Trump stated he wanted Berman out.
– Attorney General William Barr informed Berman of his removal: Unconfirmed claim. Barr stated he asked Berman to resign.
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Model:
gpt-3.5-turbo
Used prompts:
1. You are an objective news journalist. You need to write an article on this topic “US prosecutor resigns after Trump says ‘I want him out'”. Do the following steps: 1. What Happened. Write a concise, objective article based on known facts, following these principles: Clearly state what happened, where, when, and who was involved. Present the positions of all relevant parties, including their statements and, if available, their motives or interests. Use a neutral, analytical tone, avoid taking sides in the article. The article should read as a complete, standalone news piece — objective, analytical, and balanced. Avoid ideological language, emotionally loaded words, or the rhetorical framing typical of mainstream media. Write the result as a short analytical news article (200 – 400 words). 2. Sources Analysis. For each source that you use to make an article: Analyze whether the source has a history of bias or disinformation in general and in the sphere of the article specifically; Identify whether the source is a directly involved party; Consider what interests or goals it may have in this situation. Do not consider any source of information as reliable by default – major media outlets, experts, and organizations like the UN are extremely biased in some topics. Write your analysis down in this section of the article. Make it like: Source 1 – analysis, source 2 – analysis, etc. Do not make this section long, 100 – 250 words. 3. Fact Check. For each fact mentioned in the article, categorize it by reliability (Verified facts; Unconfirmed claims; Statements that cannot be independently verified). Write down a short explanation of your evaluation. Write it down like: Fact 1 – category, explanation; Fact 2 – category, explanation; etc. Do not make this section long, 100 – 250 words. Output only the article text. Do not add any introductions, explanations, summaries, or conclusions. Do not say anything before or after the article. Just the article. Do not include a title also.
2. Write a clear, concise, and neutral headline for the article below. Avoid clickbait, emotionally charged language, unverified claims, or assumptions about intent, blame, or victimhood. Attribute contested information to sources (e.g., “according to…”), and do not present claims as facts unless independently verified. The headline should inform, not persuade. Write only the title, do not add any other information in your response.
3. Determine a single section to categorize the article. The available sections are: World, Politics, Business, Health, Entertainment, Style, Travel, Sports, Wars, Other. Write only the name of the section, capitalized first letter. Do not add any other information in your response.