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U.S. Attorney Investigating Trump Associates Issues Extraordinary Statement of Refusal to Resign After Attempted ‘Friday Night Massacre’ by Bill Barr

Andy Towle June 20, 2020 Leave a Comment

Geoffrey Berman
Geoffrey Berman, US attorney for the Southern District of New York 

Geoffrey Berman, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York who is in charge of the investigations of Trump associates Michael Cohen, Rudy Giuliani, and Lev Parnas, issued an extraordinary statement late Friday night after learning that Attorney General Bill Barr was trying to axe him from his position.

Wrote Berman: “I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was ‘stepping down' as United States Attorney. I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption.

pic.twitter.com/hFNvQs5orV

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) June 20, 2020

The NYT reports: “Mr. Barr's announcement that Mr. Trump was seeking to replace Mr. Berman was made with no notice. Mr. Barr said the president intended to nominate as Mr. Berman's successor Jay Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has never served as a prosecutor.”

Why does a president get rid of his own hand-picked US Attorney in SDNY on a Friday night, less than 5 months before the election?

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) June 20, 2020

Clear:

Barr lied.
Something *really* stinks.
Legally, *Barr* can't fire Berman.
Berman *can* be replaced by a Senate-confirmed successor.

Not clear:

Whether *Trump* can fire Berman.
Whether Barr/Trump can name his replacement *without* Senate confirmation.
*WHY* this happened.

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) June 20, 2020

CNN reports: “Tensions between the New York and Washington offices have grown with Berman and Barr butting heads over the handling of some cases, including the indictment of Turkish bank Halkbank.Last fall, Justice Department officials discussed replacing Berman with Ed O'Callaghan, a senior official, but then prosecutors indicted the Giuliani associates, a move that appeared to extend Berman's tenure.Trump and Barr have long taken issue with the office's handling of various cases, but people close to the office believe its string of extremely high-profile investigations — including those of Cohen, Giuliani and Jeffrey Epstein — may have deterred Justice officials from pushing out Berman because his exit would have been certain to cause an uproar and charges of political interference. For the last several months, however, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the office has had a relatively quiet period, and some believe Barr seized that opportunity to oust Berman.”

#FridayNightMassacre trended on Twitter Saturday morning.

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Important point:

Geoff Berman donated $5400 to Trump's campaign in 2016.

This isn't some Deep State Democrat. This is a Trump guy.

But as soon as he threatened DJT, he was fired anyway.

If only Trump's supporters were as disloyal to Trump as he is to them…

— Sam Koppelman (@SammyKoppelman) June 20, 2020

There are many open questions about what transpired last night in the SDNY, but one thing is clear:

Bill Barr lied when he said Berman stepped down.

Bill Barr also lied about the Mueller Report.

Bill Barr is a dangerous, lying enabler who is destroying the DOJ.

— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) June 20, 2020

Barr must testify. While I was chairman of @SenJudiciary we had an annual AG oversight hearing. Barr last testified May 1, 2019. That's multiple scandals ago. Either we live in a democracy with a government accountable to the people, or we don't.

— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) June 20, 2020
https://twitter.com/Weinsteinlaw/status/1274195192325824517

Here's why AG Barr, with Trump hiding ineffectually behind Barr's ample butt, is trying to replace Berman five months before the election. Five reasons: https://t.co/nfhpzHbtCK

— Laurence Tribe 🇺🇦 ⚖️ (@tribelaw) June 20, 2020

Topics: Daily Resist, Featured, Politics More Posts About: Bill Barr, Donald Trump, Geoffrey Berman

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