Federal prosecutors have told The New York Times that they increasingly wary of pursuing new criminal cases relating to President Donald Trump or his allies. 

More than a dozen officials currently working in some of the 93 US Attorney's Offices around the country, who were unnamed, told the newspaper they had already been hesitant about prosecuting new cases that might "attract the president's attention."

But events this week -- in which senior Justice Department (DOJ) officials  interfered to reduce the minimum recommended sentence for former Trump adviser Roger Stone -- had increased their concern, The Times said.

They said they did not believe that Attorney General William Barr, a staunch Trump ally, would defend their independence in politically-charged cases.