"Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) is asking Attorney General William Barr to preserve any records related to a hacking probe on environmental groups that was launched in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) prior to former U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman’s dismissal.

The probe looks into phishing emails that targeted the email accounts of government officials, journalists, banks, environmental activists and other individuals. The emails reportedly impersonated a campaign against oil giant Exxon Mobil.

Whitehouse said that Berman’s dismissal two weeks ago, which Democrats have speculated may be tied to his investigations into associates of President Trump, might have also been related to this probe.

“Suggestions of political interference into ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions are rife at this point,” Whitehouse wrote in a letter addressed to Barr."

J. Edward Moreno reports for The Hill July 3, 2020. [2]