Top official in US justice department’s criminal division to step down

Kenneth Polite, assistant attorney general, leaving amid friction with the justice department's No 2 official

The top official overseeing the criminal division at the US justice department is expected to step down this summer, according to three people briefed on the matter. His tenure included managing high-profile investigations into corporate crime and the January 6 Capitol attack.

The departure of assistant attorney general Kenneth Polite is significant at the department given he occupies one of its most high-profile and influential roles and oversees 600 federal prosecutors.