The top criminal prosecutor of the Department of Justice resigned after US President Donald Trump's administration ordered an investigation into the climate spending of Joe Biden.
According to CNN, senior prosecutor in the Washington, DC, US Attorney’s Office, Denise Cheung, resigned on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, after refusing to investigate the Environmental Protection Agency's spending.
Multiple people familiar with the matter told CNN that Cheung stepped down from her position after US President Donald Trump-appointed superiors ordered the opening of a grand jury investigation into Environmental Protection Agency funding during the Joe Biden administration.
Cheung, in her sign-off email to colleagues, wrote, “When I started as an AUSA, I took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, and I have executed this duty faithfully during my tenure, which has spanned through numerous administrations. I know that all of the AUSAs in the office continue to honour their oaths on a daily basis, just as I know that you have always conducted yourself with the utmost integrity.”
Moreover, as per CNN sources, Cheung refused the investigation request because there was insufficient evidence to take that step at the time.
Notably, the Trump administration has been critical about Biden spending on the environmental programs. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin also claimed that she discovered $20 billion in funding from Biden's 2022 climate law sitting in a Citibank account
