WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Four Democratic senators

have asked the U.S. Justice Department's Inspector General to

investigate the resignation of a senior federal prosecutor in

Washington who was being pressured to launch a criminal probe of

a contract awarded under former President Joe Biden's

Environmental Protection Agency.

Democratic Senators Edward Markey, Sheldon Whitehouse, Chris

Van Hollen and Bernie Sanders objected to the resignation of

Denise Cheung, who left the U.S. Attorney's office under

pressure from officials in President Donald Trump's

administration. The senators said the officials "demonstrate a

gross abuse of prosecutorial authority" in pressuring Cheung to

start a criminal probe of the contract despite a lack of

evidence.

Her resignation is the latest by career Justice Department

prosecutors to protest what they see as improper political

interference by the Trump administration in criminal

investigations.

"The Department must not become an instrument of political

retribution or partisan maneuvering," the senators wrote.

Cheung did not name the agency in her resignation letter.

The senators cited media reports that said she was referencing a

request to investigate money appropriated by Congress for

multibillion-dollar green banking programs created by the Biden

EPA to help low-income and minority communities invest in clean

energy and leverage private sector help.

The reports "raise serious questions about the

politicization of the Justice Department under President Donald

Trump," the senators wrote in a letter to Inspector General

Michael Horowitz. "We urge you to investigate this matter

promptly."

The EPA declined to comment and referred the question to the

Justice Department. The Justice Department's inspector general's

office also declined to comment.

Spokespeople for the U.S. Attorneys office could not be

immediately reached for comment.

Citibank, which holds the accounts for the National Clean

Investment Fund and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator

programs, declined to comment.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin had announced his attempt to

seize the green bank funding in a video posted to X, formerly

known as Twitter. The post called the green bank program

fraudulent but cited no evidence.

"It was purposefully designed to obligate all of the money

in a rush job with reduced oversight," he had said last week in

a previous post on X.

When Cheung declined to launch a grand jury investigation

citing a lack of evidence, she said she was ordered instead to

pursue an asset seizure to prevent the recipient of the contract

from drawing down the government funds.