Powerful US attorney who investigated Trump associates refuses to step down after Barr tries to push

[whopis01]

Source: CNN

In a fast-escalating crisis Friday night, Attorney General William Barr tried to oust Geoffrey Berman, the powerful US attorney for the Southern District of New York who has investigated a number of associates of President Donald Trump, but Berman defied him by refusing to step down.

In an extraordinary statement sent roughly an hour after Barr said Berman was set to leave the office, Berman said he had learned of his purported exit from a press release.
"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," Berman said. "Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption."

The standoff opens up a fresh crisis at the Justice Department, places the leadership of the most prominent federal prosecutors office outside Washington in a precarious position and again raises questions about Barr's willingness to steer the department to suit Trump's political agenda.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/politics/southern-district-of-new-york-geoffrey-berman-jay-clayton/index.html

[vlyons]

1. Wow Berman is my hero

nt

[Scarsdale]

3. Yes! Someone who has a spine,

fighting back at the corrupt Barr. I am sure Berman will get support from some of his co-workers. Barr, like tRump is so obvious it is almost laughable.

[ashredux]

2. Can't wait for next year when New Attorney General Adam Shiff takes over the Justice Dept

[rdking647]

4. under the law barr cant fire him

sessions appointed him interim US attorney.
under that law he serves 120 days or until a permanent US attorney is confirmed

Trump was to lazy to appoint a permanent replacement so when his 120 day expired the judges in the district appointed him to serve until a permanent replacement is confirmed by the senate.


this is the text of the law hes serving under

28 U.S. Code § 546 (d)

If an appointment expires under subsection (c)(2), the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled. The order of appointment by the court shall be filed with the clerk of the court.

[empedocles]

6. A lot of competent people involved in the trump case - good

[gab13by13]

10. Yes, however, there is a question

of whether Trump can fire him.

[riversedge]

20. if he does #CowardTrump would do it in a tweet instead of facing Berman like a real man would!!

[paleotn]

22. Interesting. This crew....

rarely games out or thinks anything through. They're a lazy, stupid bunch, who think symbolism is more important than actual substance. That's one of the things that's saved us these 4 years. Can you imagine an intelligent and hardworking Donnie Two Hands? Scares the shit out of me.

[johnthewoodworker]

5. This illustrates why cat grabber won't leave office.

Berman may delay his eventual departure, but he will leave and his investigations will end. You don't give away this kind of power because of an election. It's as if Al Capone was running the government. A pathological narcissist is not going to give up the power to investigate fake crimes and coverup real ones because his term is done. Things are going to become exponentially CRAZY over the next 6 months.

[uncle ray]

19. we'll drag his ass out after his humiliating defeat.

after seeing the protests of the last few weeks, is there any doubt this country will be shut down by protests if he tries?

[3Hotdogs]

7. So on Monday, Gropenfuhrer nominates a replacement.

Mitch rams it through the Senate without even a hearing.

The investigations will stall until January or beyond.

[yardwork]

9. Can the Democrats in the Senate hold up the vote?

And would every Republican in the Senate go along with this blatant misuse of power?

[3Hotdogs]

14. No, and yes, 'cept for Mitt.

Susan will be concerned.

[DeminPennswoods]

24. Any senator can object to the "unanimous consent" orders

that are required for the Senate to do business. That's what Rand Paul uses to stop proceedings.

[gab13by13]

11. That scenario would cause Trump a lot of unwanted publicity.

There is a reason why this happened on a Friday night. Also Berman is now going to testify before the House Judiciary committee on Wednesday. Mitch better hurry.

[DeminPennswoods]

8. Sovreign District of NY

rises up.

Berman was pretty gutsy to do this, but more civil servants seem to be these days. Maybe they have just seen and had enough.

McConnell could well try to the nominee through the Senate, but it's election season, the time when it's every man and woman for themselves.

[gab13by13]

12. Not going to happen, too much publicity.

Especially now with Berman scheduled to testify before the House on Wednesday. This event could be a big f****ing deal.
What did Berman expose? Was it Trump related? It is getting harder for traitor Barr to cover for traitor Trump.

[George II]

15. Apparently he was still investigating trump campaign finance violations

[George II]

13. AP is reporting that some of the things he was investigating are revealed in Bolton's book...

...so I guess that was just too much for Bunker Boy to handle.

[yardwork]

16. I'll bet that's it.

Trump's behavior is very primitive. He reacts.

[George II]

17. Yes, trump probably saw the judge's comments about how it's probably too late to stop the release...

... and he went ballistic.

[SheltieLover]

18. K&R!

[Kid Berwyn]

21. Lev Parnas!

Come on down!

[Stuart G]

23. Here is Berman's full statement refusing to resign...

________________________________________________________________________________________

Statement Of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman On Announcement By Attorney General Barr


“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. I cherish every day that I work with the men and women of this Office to pursue justice without fear or favor – and intend to ensure that this Office’s important cases continue unimpeded.”

________________________________________________________________________________________