US Attorney: "I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position"

[RandySF]

Link to tweet

?s=20

erica orden
@eorden
NEW: Geoff Berman statement:

“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"

[mucifer]

1. Holy crap!!!!!!!

[drray23]

2. Whoaa it's on !

It’s incredible that he is pushing back.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Well. That's interesting.

Fuck you, Bill Barr. Fire me. I dare you.

[Mme. Defarge]

4. Holy crap!

[blitzen]

5. Score one for Geoff Berman! n/t

[dem4decades]

6. The Judicial Branch is trying to hold their flank. Against their leader.

[backtoblue]

7. K&R

[Laelth]

8. Glad to hear it. n/t

-Laelth

[scarletwoman]

9. Wow! Hang in there, Berman!

[Takket]

10. in other words...

he's not going to give drumpf the excuse of saying he "resigned". if drumpf wants him gone he's going to have to do the deed himself

[Desert grandma]

11. Good for him.

Now we will see if we are a nation of laws after all. I hope he can hang on until January 2021. Barr needs to be disbarred or impeached. He is a disgrace to the office he holds. History will not be kind to Mr. Barr.

[msongs]

12. omg republican with a spine nt

[blogslut]

13. kick

[Penn Voter]

14. Fight Mr. Berman

Fight this corrupt Dept. of Just Us

[NoRoadUntravelled]

15. So, the Alternative Reality Show adds yet another plot twist.

Seems like most of this administration's weeks end with a cliff hanger. Fridays, I dunno. Could be the wine.

[fishwax]

16. good for him -- I wonder if trump will have the temerity to fire him

trump never personally fires anybody except on his silly tv show, of course, so what I really mean is I wonder if trump will have the temerity to order someone else to fire him.

[Raastan]

17. K + R

[soothsayer]

18. Go, man, go!

Holy cow!

[Brother Buzz]

19. Geoff Berman is brilliant and just painted Barr and the orange anus...

into a corner. Game on!

[riversedge]

20. Indeed. nytimes says it was Attorney General William P. Barr, who made the announcement...

BREAKING
U.S. Attorney Who Investigated Trump Associates Is Abruptly Replaced

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/nyregion/us-attorney-manhattan-trump.html?referringSource=articleShare

The United States attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey Berman, had been leading the investigation into Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer.


June 19, 2020, 9:58 p.m. ET

The Justice Department abruptly announced on Friday that it had replaced the United States attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, the powerful federal prosecutor whose office sent President Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to prison and who has been investigating Mr. Trump’s current personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani.

The announcement that Mr. Berman would be replaced was made with no notice by the Attorney General William P. Barr, who said the president intended to nominate as his successor Jay Clayton, the current chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

[moondust]

21. As re-election looks more unlikely,

Trump/Barr may be trying to get more "friendly" control of SDNY in order to avoid any potential prosecution after Trump leaves office.

[Lock him up.]

31. Federal Law prosecutions...

Individual 1 is scared.

Since he's already in deep doodoo, what's another count of Obstruction of Justice on top of all the others in the Mueller Report?

And baRr is ready to join him in... he must be disbaRred ASAP.

Lock em up.

[TomCADem]

22. Good for Berman. Unlike Barr, Some People...

...take their oath to seriously.

[C_U_L8R]

23. "I'm not leaving!"

[denem]

36. The one episode in the WoWS that was completely fabricated.

Belfort left. He was a coward to his core.

[C_U_L8R]

43. And fabricated so well. Great movie moment.

Berman gave me the same feeling tonight - telling Trump to cram it.

[tblue37]

24. Hmmm:

Link to tweet

[totodeinhere]

25. If he refuses to resign can they just fire him?? n/t

[MoonlitKnight]

30. No

Because he was appointed by the court due to no Senate confirmed nominee, he keeps the job until the court - not Barr or Trump - fires him or the is a Senate confirmed replacement.

Barr is trying to replace him with the guy from New Jersey who has been helping cover up the Trump PPP fraud at a NJ based bank.

[totodeinhere]

34. Good. Thanks for the info. n/t

[Nevilledog]

35. And also connected to Deutsche Bank.

[totodeinhere]

52. There is an article on Mediaite that contradicts your contention that they cannot fire him.

I am not saying that you are wrong but I am just throwing this out there.

Attorney General William Barr on Saturday told New York’s top federal prosecutor that President Donald Trump had fired him nearly 24 hours after he refused to resign.

Barr wrote in a letter to Berman stating, “Unfortunately, with your statement of last night, you have chosen public spectacle over public service. 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.”

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-fires-new-yorks-top-federal-prosecutor-after-he-refuses-to-resign/

And then there is this.

But the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel argued in a 1979 opinion that the “power to remove a court-appointed U.S. attorney rests with the president.” It says, “The president is responsible for the conduct of a U.S. Attorney’s office and therefore must have the power to remove one he believes is an unsuitable incumbent, regardless of who appointed him.”

This was an opinion put forward by the Justice Department under President Carter.

https://apnews.com/e9ecba75a9d528ad1de7af33f978f007

[MoonlitKnight]

56. As in most legal situations

There are arguments to be made. Would have been interesting to see it play out.

[Gothmog]

26. This will be fun to watch

Berman has not stepped down and trump cannot replace him unless he resigns

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Grasswire2]

27. How can we best support Berman right now?

The people need to rise up in his defense.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

32. +1....all this done on the eve of the spectacle in Tulsa. Someone

tell us what to do! JHC we desperately need a leader.

[Grasswire2]

28. FRIDAY NIGHT -- it's becoming a tradition for Trump

The worst dirty deeds on Friday nights.

[spanone]

29. ⭐️K&R⭐️

[Xolodno]

33. Very hard to fire a Federal employee.

You need cause and well documented cause. Then you put them on a probationary period to improve their performance...and even if they don't rise to the level, they can appeal.

[Lock him up.]

37. bolton's book:

"Bolton details an exchange that Trump had with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the Southern District."

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-donald-trump-fires-us-attorney-southern-district/story?id=71357518

11th paragraph.

Lock him up.

[Xolodno]

42. Wow! LOL!

Edrogan asked for a favor on a bank that was being investigated!

I work for an insurance company that's owned by an international insurance/finance company. Deutsche Bank is notorious...they once hired and executive from there and promptly regretted it. He then went on to work in a Cyprus bank in the Turkish controlled section of the island. And they are considered more "notorious" than Deutsche Bank...or for that matter, Russian banks as well. And of course, all the northern Cypress banks have connections to Turkey.

Yikes.

[LTG]

44. An appointed position

As u.s. attorneys are appointed by the President they serve at the pleasure of the President. He can fire them at any time without cause or even explanation. As this one was appointed by the Court I have no idea how or who would fire him. You can bet his replacement will be fast tracked by the Senate. At that point the Court will have to recognize his removal.

[Xolodno]

45. I stand corrected.

Didn't realize he was appointed...he's good as toast then. But that is yet one more political embarrassment and I wouldn't be surprised he gives the finger to Dump when told he can't testify before the House.

[BigmanPigman]

38. This is getting very interesting.

[Mersky]

39. Yeeeeeowww! GOOD.

Thank you to Berman. Thank you for standing up to Barr.

[mountain grammy]

40. Let's see what happens tomorrow

After the mob does what they do.

[Mersky]

41. Pester the living daylights out of your senators about this

Especially the GOPers. I’m inspired to print some loud-assed postcards.

cornyn will hear from me.

[Blue Owl]

46. Give Bill Barr a stick of dynamite to shove up his fucking ass

n/t

[DENVERPOPS]

47. Watch out Blue

I stated something similar to this, except it involved a fire hose and got spanked by DU.....LOL

[cstanleytech]

48. Will this cause problems for Biden on firing the toads Trump has appointed with them refusing

to leave until the Senate confirms a new person?

[The Polack MSgt]

49. Won' be an issue if we have the Senate

hint hint

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

50. But you're supposed to go quietly.

You're going to ruin it for all us - Billy Barr

[Tommymac]

51. Kicked for Truth & Justice

[totodeinhere]

53. Berman resigned on Saturday.

Link to tweet

/photo/1

[Lucinda]

54. he has now

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/statement-geoffrey-s-berman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Statement Of Geoffrey S. Berman
“In light of Attorney General Barr’s decision to respect the normal operation of law and have Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss become Acting U.S. Attorney, I will be leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, effective immediately. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as this District’s U.S. Attorney and a custodian of its proud legacy, but I could leave the District in no better hands than Audrey’s. She is the smartest, most principled, and effective lawyer with whom I have ever had the privilege of working. And I know that under her leadership, this Office’s unparalleled AUSAs, investigators, paralegals, and staff will continue to safeguard the Southern District’s enduring tradition of integrity and independence.”

[bucolic_frolic]

55. This is not sitting well in the country

Michael R. Bromwich
@mrbromwich

This is highly irregular. Why the rush to get Geoff Berman out the door and cause disarray in three different offices at once? There’s a story here. What is it?

Link to tweet

Walter Shaub
@waltshaub
It's official. Berman has accepted that he's out as SDNY's US Attorney. No explanation given for his firing. Trump has nominated a replacement who has never litigated. It's clear this was always about shutting down cases linked to Trump. BILL BARR MUST BE IMPEACHED! #ImpeachBarr

Link to tweet

The Hill
@thehill
LIVE COVERAGE: Swalwell calls on House Judiciary Committee to impeach Barr http://hill.cm/w4ouNDP

Link to tweet