US Attorney Berman says he will step down.,,
Update…
This IS getting worst by the hour….
Trump Personally Fires U.S. Attorney Who Investigated His Associates…
President Trump on Saturday personally fired the United States Attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, whose office has pursued one case after another that has rankled the president and his allies, putting his former personal lawyer in prison and investigating his current one.
It was the culmination of an extraordinary clash after years of tension between the White House and New York federal prosecutors….
In a letter released by the Justice Department, Attorney General William P. Barr accused of Mr. Berman of choosing “public spectacle over public service” because he would not voluntarily step down from the position.
Why?
Berman Suddenly Out at Southern District of New York
Attorney General William Barr announced that Geoffrey Berman is “stepping down” as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
President Trump intends to nominate Jay Clayton, Chairman of the SEC, to replace him.
Politicalwire….
There IS sure to be MORE on this….
Hmmmm?????
The U.S. attorney who oversaw key prosecutions of allies of President Donald Trump and an investigation into Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is resigning from his post, officials said Friday.
Geoffrey Berman is stepping down as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.
Barr said Trump intends to nominate Jay Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to the post. The U.S. attorney in New Jersey, Craig Carpenito, will serve as the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, beginning on July 3, Barr said.
It was unclear why Berman was leaving the position after serving for more than two years. The announcement, made late Friday, came after Barr visited New York City and met with local police officials there.
Berman’s sudden resignation is likely to raise additional questions from congressional Democrats who have accused Barr of politicizing the Justice Department and acting more like Trump’s personal attorney rather than the nation’s chief law enforcement officer…..
Note…
A Biden admin would have new Attorney General and probably a new US Attorney for the Southern District….ANYTHING in the files today would be picked right up after January 20 , 2021….
Trump HAS to be scared and Barr seems to be running cover for him….
Barr is gonna be asked a LOT of questions after January 20th that he’s gonna be real uncomfortable to answer…And folks ?
The walls, even over at the DOJ, have to have ears….
image…Geoffrey Berman. | AP Photo/Seth Wenig
This IS STRAIGHT OUT I DON’T give a fuck….
Kathrine Faulders
@KFaulders
US Atty for SDNY Geoffrey Berman was fired. The news came as a shock tonight. Sources close to him & DOJ official say AG Barr offered him other positions including head of Civil Division at main justice and Berman declined. News via me @alex_mallin & @AaronKatersky
This has gone off the tracks….
Barr and Trump CAN fire the guy….
But there have to be worried about how bad this gonna be…
And it just adds to Trump’s negatives in. the media and probably in the poll’s….
All while Biden just crushes along….
Don aldrins Trump REALLY seems to be working hard to NOT get re-elected and now it seems try to cover his tracks in broad daylight….
One would image that the FBI will smiling like others if AP announces for Biden come election night.
This IS straight what the media feasts on….
NY Times…
Barr Abruptly Seeks to Fire U.S. Attorney Who Investigated Trump Associates
But the United States attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, who had been leading the inquiry into Rudolph W. Giuliani, is refusing to leave his position…
WashPost…
Trump administration in standoff with Manhattan U.S. attorney
The Trump administration announced Friday night that Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who has handled a number of investigations involving the president or his campaign, will be leaving that job, though Berman fired back that he hadn’t resigned and would stay on to ensure his office’s cases proceed unimpeded.
The surreal Friday night standoff marks the latest battle over the Trump administration’s management of the Justice Department. Democrats have decried what they charge has been the politicization of the department under President Trump and his attorney general, William P. Barr.
Your view on this going sideways Jack?
From what I’ve read ,Berman says he will step down once a successor is confirmed by the Senate.
I presume Trump will order McConnell to fast track such and since we know the Republicans quickly cave to his desires in these type things,this may have a fairly rapid conclusion.
You REALLY think they will let Berman
keep them hanging and dancing?
Oh they could confirm his successor very quickly ,maybe within a few weeks.
This isn’t really that big a deal in my view.
Bottom line?Hes out.Next week?Two weeks?
U.S. attorneys understand they serve at the pleasure of their superiors.
Issac Chotiner
@chotiner
This attempted firing is Trump trying to distract us from the Tulsa rally he chose to hold to distract us from his failed Layaette Park stunt, which was intended to distract us from his failed handling of the Floyd protests and coronavirus. And you all fell for it.
Oh Snap!
This gets more crazy by the hour!
Graham now says to no vote on new SDNY appointee without the old input from the states NY Dem Senators ?
Let’s see how fast he changes his mind after Trump calls him?
Only if Graham REALLY thinks Trump is gonna lose i’d he gonna stick to this…
Perhaps Lady G should simply change the subject James.
Maybe he too can consider adopting one of those young men (in his case they aren’t Hispanic) that he has been “supporting” all these years.
He’ll find a weasel way around this, I have no doubt. Because Schumer ain’t Blue Slipping a replacement before the election.
McConnell will simply do away with Blue Slips.
Agreed Keith….
This is getting worst by the hour like i have been saying
Jim Sciutto
jmsciutto
Breaking: In a letter to US Atty Berman, Attorney General Bill Barr said that President Trump has fired Berman.
“Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so,” wrote Barr.
Will there be more people leaving?
Will Bergman go court to insist Trump can’t fire him?
Has Donald Trump proved once and for all that EVERYBODY in the executive branch serves at the pleasure of the President and all the rules that said otherwise don’t mean shit?
Leaks?
More on the firing….
White House officials have not responded to requests for comment on the unusual showdown between the attorney general and Berman, whose office has a long tradition of relative independence from Justice Department headquarters in Washington.
Barr and Berman have long had an adversarial relationship, but Friday night’s bungled ouster attempt still stunned longtime DOJ observers. Berman’s office handled a number of investigations and prosecutions linked to Trump and his associates, including the case against Trump’s ex-consigliere Michael Cohen and investigations that scrutinized the president’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and his inaugural committee.
Recently, the office made international news for sparring with Prince Andrew in an effort to secure the British royal’s testimony for an investigation involving the activities of deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Strauss’s installation will likely shield the department from allegations that DOJ headquarters fired Berman in hopes of immediately installing a political lackey or to shut down ongoing investigations. Public records show she has made political contributions to both Republicans and Democrats over the years, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. She worked in the Southern District for a stint from 1976 to 1983, according to her official bio, and also worked for the independent counsel who investigated the Iran Contra scandal….
More…
The House to try to get info out to the public thru there media on the DOJ Barr/Bermen case…
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) announced Saturday that the committee will immediately open an investigation into the Trump administration’s decision to fire Manhattan U.S. attorney Geoff Berman.
“The House Judiciary Committee will immediately open an investigation into this incident, as part of our broader investigation into Barr’s unacceptable politicization of the Department of Justice,” Nadler said in a statement.
“On Wednesday, the Committee will hear from two whistleblowers who will explain why Barr’s attempt to fire Mr. Berman is part of a larger, ongoing, and wholly unacceptable pattern of conduct. If the President removes Mr. Berman, then we will take additional steps to secure his testimony as well.”
More…
Fired US Atty for the Southern District tells his story to the House Judiciary committee….
Attorney General William Barr persistently pressured Manhattan’s former top federal prosecutor to resign during a June 18 meeting at a New York hotel and in a subsequent phone call, the ousted prosecutor, Geoffrey Berman told lawmakers Thursday, detailing for the first time the series of events that led to his removal the next day.
Berman, in a written statement to the House Judiciary Committee, said Barr repeatedly attempted to coax Berman into resigning his post by suggesting he consider other positions in government, including the chairmanship of the Securities and Exchange Commission or the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
“I said that there was no job offer that would entice me to resign from my position,” Berman told lawmakers in his opening statement, obtained by POLITICO.
But Barr, later that night, issued a statement announcing Berman’s resignation anyway, which triggered Berman to publicly respond that he had done no such thing. The extraordinary exchange culminated the following day, when Barr agreed to name Berman’s deputy as his successor and President Donald Trump ordered Berman’s firing.
Berman told lawmakers he had consulted with private attorneys and was prepared to contest his removal until Barr had agreed to elevate Berman’s deputy, Audrey Strauss, rather than insert an attorney from outside the office to replace him.
The events have raised alarms on Capitol Hill that Trump was seeking to assert control over the office of a prosecutor handling cases connected to Trump himself and his close associates. Berman’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee could reveal more details about the work he’s been pursuing, though he emphasized that he is constrained in what he can say due to the office’s ongoing work….
More…
Today is June 20th, 2020, only six months away from Inauguration Day on January 20th, 2021.
Let’s hope that it’s just six more months for the incumbent, and not fifty-four.
Seven months… patience.
Oops, I must have been using the arithmetic that DJT thinks he learned at Wharton.
Or else, I had been thinking of July 20th and out of some subconscious wish, thought today was July 20 and not June 20.
(The history-obsessed will recall that 20 July 1944 was the day — about six weeks after D-Day — that the German generals tried to kill Hitler and end the Third Reich, largely in hopes of making a deal with the US & UK in order to fight off the USSR.
http://www.britannica.com/event/July-Plot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_July_plot )
Ur doing pretty damn good DSD….
Amen DSD‼️😳
What if every defendant could choose his or her own prosecutor, and fire any inconvenient ones?
What if u could fire the prosecutor ?
Trump hopes the Saturday DOJ news will be drowned out by coverage of the Tulsa rally i’d bet…..