Manhattan prosecutor steps down, ending stand-off with U.S. Attorney General Barr

By Sarah N. Lynch and Karen Freifeld

 

Geoffrey Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York exits the Manhattan Federal Court after the arraignment of Jeffrey Epstein, who faces charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, in New York, U.S., July 8, 2019. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

 

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A stand-off over the independence of one of the country's most important prosecutor's offices ended on Saturday when Geoffrey Berman agreed to step down as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the office that had been investigating President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani.

 

Berman's confirmation of his departure came after Attorney General William Barr told him he had been fired by Trump at Barr's request, and that Berman's hand-picked No. 2, Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss, would become Acting U.S. Attorney until a permanent replacement is installed.

 

Under Strauss' leadership, Berman said the office could continue its "tradition of integrity and independence."

 

Berman's office, which is known for prosecuting the most high profile terrorism cases, Wall Street financial crimes and government corruption, has not shied from taking on figures in Trump's orbit.

 

It oversaw the prosecution of Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, indicted two Giuliani associates and launched a probe into Giuliani in connection with his efforts to dig up dirt on Trump's political adversaries in Ukraine.

 

Giuliani has not formally been accused of any wrongdoing.

 

The standoff with Berman follows the latest in a series of moves by Barr that critics say are meant to benefit Trump politically and undermine the independence of the Justice Department.

 

It also comes as Trump has sought to purge officials perceived as not fully supporting him. In recent weeks he has fired a series of agency watchdogs, including one who played a key role in Trump's impeachment earlier this year.

 

The row with Berman began late Friday, when Barr unexpectedly announced that Berman was stepping down and would be replaced by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton.

 

Berman, however, issued a statement of his own, saying he had no intention of stepping down until the Senate confirmed his successor, and that his office's investigations would continue.

 

On Friday, Barr said he had picked Craig Carpenito, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New Jersey, to serve as Acting U.S. Attorney until Clayton's confirmation.

 

But in a letter on Saturday to Berman, Barr back-tracked from that plan, saying Strauss would take over in an acting capacity.

 

One former Southern District prosecutor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Barr's initial decision to install Carpenito was a "huge departure" from normal practice.

 

In the letter, Barr said he was "surprised and quite disappointed" by Berman's statement late on Friday night in which he refused to quit his job, and he accused Berman of choosing "public spectacle over public service."

 

"I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so," Barr said.

 

Trump, meanwhile, appeared to contradict Barr's letter, telling reporters as he left the White House for a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma that Berman's firing was a matter for Barr.

 

"Attorney General Barr is working on that. That's his department, not my department... that's really up to him. I'm not involved," Trump said.

 

'BASE AND IMPROPER'

 

Although Berman agreed to step down on Saturday, it is not likely to end the political controversy swirling around his highly unusual firing.

 

It comes after Barr intervened in February to scale back a sentencing recommendation for Trump's longtime friend Roger Stone over the advice of career prosecutors.

 

Then in May, Barr asked a federal judge to dismiss the criminal case against Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, again prompting questions about whether he was acting in the president's personal interest.

 

Jerrold Nadler, the Chairman of the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee, said he has launched an investigation into Berman's termination.

 

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the firing appeared to have "base and improper motives," while the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Diane Feinstein, urged the panel's chairman, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, to launch an investigation into "political interference in the work of the Justice Department."

 

Putting a spotlight on prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, a new book by John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, alleges that the president once promised Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he would oust prosecutors in Berman's office who were investigating a Turkish bank, Halkbank, for evading U.S. sanctions against Iran.

 

"The president said to Erdogan at one point, 'Look, those prosecutors in New York are Obama people. Wait till I get my people in and then we'll take care of this.'" Bolton told ABC News in a pre-taped interview set to air on Sunday.

 

Berman's office ultimately secured an indictment against the bank, and the case is ongoing.

 

Barr, in his letter to Berman, said his departure would not impede ongoing investigations, and that any allegations of improper interference in a case should be referred to the Justice Department's inspector general.

 

"I fully expect that the office will continue to handle all cases in the normal course and pursuant to the Department’s applicable standards, policies, and guidance," Barr wrote.

 

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Karen Freifeld in New York; Additional reporting by Alexandra Alper, Andrea Shalal and Katanga Johnson in Washington and Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-21

 

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Wow, this is third world autocrat stuff. 

7 minutes ago, samran said:

Wow, this is third world autocrat stuff. 

No kidding.  This is blatant in-your-face corruption that will be widely dissected.  It's clear to everyone that the SDNY is charged with investigating associates of Trump including Rudy, Cohen, etc., not to mention Trump Org.  It exposes yet again that Barr is a political hack working to defend Trump and not the US Constitution.  But the career prosecutors at the SDNY aren't just going to roll over.  The investigations will go on.  Such an amateurish display of dictatorship tendencies.

This certainly trashes any pretense of a separation between "state" and judiciary. No he is not a judge, but should be able to operate in an independent manner. Not at the behest of the administration, to only investigate/prosecute what any incumbent approves.

   

Barr says Trump gave the order. Trump denies it. Enough said.

Well at least one trump appointie is leaving with dignity kudos sir to hang on till you knew a responsible person will be replacing you then if the senate blows it it’s on them I’ve got a feeling some of them are going to rebell and yes the blantent corruption is there for all to see imo this could possibly put billey Barr behind bars or disbarred possibly both!

Seems weird to replace a U.S. Attorney five months before an election, with someone with zero litigation experience? Can't see Clayton getting Senate approval much before October?

 

Add to that the apparent confusion on who issued the orders, and we're left with the usual trump-barr corruption. barr makes Jock Jeffcoat look like a saint.

 

Assume Mr. Berman finally resigned as it looks like Ms. Strauss will take over. Would expect trump to want her gone in fairly short order?

New York State AG can also take over some/all of the cases. Letitia James seems fully capable of taking on trump.

 

 

53 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

No kidding.  This is blatant in-your-face corruption that will be widely dissected.  It's clear to everyone that the SDNY is charged with investigating associates of Trump including Rudy, Cohen, etc., not to mention Trump Org.  It exposes yet again that Barr is a political hack working to defend Trump and not the US Constitution.  But the career prosecutors at the SDNY aren't just going to roll over.  The investigations will go on.  Such an amateurish display of dictatorship tendencies.

With current news, Barr does look like just a political hack working to defend Trump. But there's so much more there: Barr has a long history of controversy:  As AG under Bush Sr, he was instrumental in the Iran Contra cover-up, his father first hired Epstein as a "math teacher" (with no credentials), his DOJ upheld the controversial Miami Epstein decision and Epstein died in jail under Barr's watch. Coincidental?  Look more into Epstein's involvement in Iran Contra (and extensive other similar activities) and it starts to look like Barr is trying to cover more than just Trump's ass.

9 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Seems weird to replace a U.S. Attorney five months before an election, with someone with zero litigation experience? Can't see Clayton getting Senate approval much before October?

 

Add to that the apparent confusion on who issued the orders, and we're left with the usual trump-barr corruption. barr makes Jock Jeffcoat look like a saint.

 

Assume Mr. Berman finally resigned as it looks like Ms. Strauss will take over. Would expect trump to want her gone in fairly short order?

New York State AG can also take over some/all of the cases. Letitia James seems fully capable of taking on trump.

 

 

Berman stepped down when there was official paperwork stating it was Trump who was firing him.  But Ms. Strauss can't be fired by Trump (career position, not appointed), and can only be "gone" if a Trump appointee goes through Senate confirmation.

22 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Seems weird to replace a U.S. Attorney five months before an election, with someone with zero litigation experience?

I think that’s the whole point! Litigations don’t go very well after that...

46 minutes ago, Misty said:

But Ms. Strauss can't be fired by Trump

 

But we're told that trump can fire anybody he wants to.

 

28 U.S. Code § 541. United States attorneys

 

(c) Each United States attorney is subject to removal by the President.

 

 

I think when trump finds out that Ms. Strauss bested his mentor, Roy Cohn, back in the day, that he will lose it?

 

 

 

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

It also comes as Trump has sought to purge officials perceived as not fully supporting him. In recent weeks he has fired a series of agency watchdogs, including one who played a key role in Trump's impeachment earlier this year.

Welcome to the swamp. 

51 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Welcome to the swamp. 

Swamps are complex ecosystems important for the environment and water quality. 
 

This is a sewer. 

5 minutes ago, samran said:

Swamps are complex ecosystems important for the environment and water quality. 
 

This is a sewer. 

You are correct, so let me rephrase

 

Welcome to the polluted sewer water that the trump fish swims in

The fact is the presidency under the Constitution is indeed unitary.  The power of the Department of Justice is power that is delegated, but not ceded, to it by the president.  The DoJ, despite our fondest hopes, is not a fourth branch of government.  It was only ever from custom or a kind of good manners that the president did not interfere directly in the prosecutions carried out by the DoJ.  To that extent, Trump is correct, he does have the power to control the DoJ and to hire and fire US Attorneys. 

 

The problem is that the Constitution does not actually provide as much separation of powers as Americans assume to be the case.  The Constitution should be amended, but the Framers wrote it to make it nearly impossible to amend because of the requirement of a trifecta of supermajorities required to amend: two-thirds of the Senate, two-thirds of the House, and three-quarters of the states.  Since 1789 there have been only seventeen amendments, the last of which took two hundred years to ratify.  None of us will ever see any new amendment in our lifetimes.  

A post in violation of fair use policy has been removed:

 

14) You will not post any copyrighted material except as fair use laws apply (as in the case of news articles). Please only post a link, the headline and the first three sentences.

5 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Seems weird to replace a U.S. Attorney five months before an election, with someone with zero litigation experience? Can't see Clayton getting Senate approval much before October?

 

Add to that the apparent confusion on who issued the orders, and we're left with the usual trump-barr corruption. barr makes Jock Jeffcoat look like a saint.

 

Assume Mr. Berman finally resigned as it looks like Ms. Strauss will take over. Would expect trump to want her gone in fairly short order?

New York State AG can also take over some/all of the cases. Letitia James seems fully capable of taking on trump.

 

 

Presumably they were getting close to taking action that Barr wanted to stop.

After Trump is unceremoniously ushered out of DC in January, when he reluctantly and bitterly hands the reins over the a far more capable man, political scientists and opinion writers will spend years dissecting the mad experiment of the Trump presidency, when democracy was nearly lost to a wannabe despot rulers, who ignored the rule of law, at every opportunity.

 

He has succeeded on a few levels. He has made the US the laughing stock of the world. He has allowed the US to become the most radioactive nation on earth, with over 2 million Covid cases, many of which are directly attributed to his polices, his ignorance, his willingness to ignore multiple warmings by experts, and his hubris. Granted, the rest can be linked to the world's highest levels of heart disease, diabetes, and morbid obesity, combined with a horrific diet. He has severely eroded and nearly destroyed alliances that took decades to build. He has succeeded in allowing China to emerge from all of this looking strong and smart, and he has succeeded in making himself look like an out of touch fool, a relic, and a terrible leader. Barr has acted as his personal lawyer, and next year he too will unceremoniously depart Washington into a life of obscurity and ridicule. 

7 hours ago, johnpetersen said:

Barr says Trump gave the order. Trump denies it. Enough said.

Did Barr actually say this?

My understanding of this situation is that Barr would make a recommendation to POTUS and it would be rubber-stamped.

 

8 hours ago, samran said:

Wow, this is third world autocrat stuff. 

 

Yes. From the initial appointment of senior officers in the Justice Department by one political party to their removal by their rival party.

 

Nothing, nothing at all, to do with justice.

33 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

After Trump is unceremoniously ushered out of DC in January, when he reluctantly and bitterly hands the reins over the a far more capable man, political scientists and opinion writers will spend years dissecting the mad experiment of the Trump presidency, when democracy was nearly lost to a wannabe despot rulers, who ignored the rule of law, at every opportunity.

 

He has succeeded on a few levels. He has made the US the laughing stock of the world. He has allowed the US to become the most radioactive nation on earth, with over 2 million Covid cases, many of which are directly attributed to his polices, his ignorance, his willingness to ignore multiple warmings by experts, and his hubris. Granted, the rest can be linked to the world's highest levels of heart disease, diabetes, and morbid obesity, combined with a horrific diet. He has severely eroded and nearly destroyed alliances that took decades to build. He has succeeded in allowing China to emerge from all of this looking strong and smart, and he has succeeded in making himself look like an out of touch fool, a relic, and a terrible leader. Barr has acted as his personal lawyer, and next year he too will unceremoniously depart Washington into a life of obscurity and ridicule. 

 

Biden capable 555555555555555!

 

He can't even remember his own lies now! 

22 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Yes. From the initial appointment of senior officers in the Justice Department by one political party to their removal by their rival party.

 

Nothing, nothing at all, to do with justice.

So was Barack Obama still President when Berman assumed office in 2018? That's news to me.

44 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Yes. From the initial appointment of senior officers in the Justice Department by one political party to their removal by their rival party.

 

Nothing, nothing at all, to do with justice.

5 months before an election? Why? Thanks 

 

Given the US system it’s more understandable you do these things at the start of a term. Getting your own people has always been the way. 
 

It’s the timing which produces a stench typically found in this part of the world. 

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Biden capable 555555555555555!

 

He can't even remember his own lies now! 

 

A Trump supporter goes on about lies....another day, another smile.

1 hour ago, DoctorG said:

Did Barr actually say this?

My understanding of this situation is that Barr would make a recommendation to POTUS and it would be rubber-stamped.

 

 

The story "migrated" a bit but to me it sounded like barr wanted Berman out ASAP (prompted by bolton's claim about Halkbank), offered him a couple of other decent jobs (can you say quid-pro-quo), Berman declined, barr said berman resigned, barr tried to plug NJ AUSA Carpenito in, Berman said Nyet, barr got trump to say he (trump) was firing Berman, Berman resigned after it looked like Strauss would be SDNY AUSA.

 

What tangled webs...

 

Expect a whole new set of alternative facts tomorrow, wait to see who get's trotted out for the Sunday shows. Mucho damage controls required.

 

 

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Barr, in his letter to Berman, said his departure would not impede ongoing investigations, and that any allegations of improper interference in a case 'should be referred to the Justice Department's inspector general.'

Aren't these the same guys (inspector generals) that trump keeps firing?

59 minutes ago, Dap said:

Aren't these the same guys (inspector generals) that trump keeps firing?

Uh, Dundee 48, why the confused emoji? trump has fired 2 inspector generals and replaced them with his own people. Kinda like thaksin did with the checks and balances set up here in Thailand, and thereby defeating the purpose of a check and balance. Didn't you understand what I was referring to?

   Obscene what is going on.  Poor America.  And, of course, Trump pretends to know nothing about it.  November can't come soon enough.  

11 hours ago, samran said:

Wow, this is third world autocrat stuff. 

No, you're wrong.

 

"Elections have consequences."

-- Barack Obama

 

Obama was right. And the SDNY clown is one of hundreds if not thousands of people the president can fire at will for any reason or no reason. This is nothing new. Nice try.

54 minutes ago, Dap said:

Uh, Dundee 48, why the confused emoji? trump has fired 2 inspector generals and replaced them with his own people. Kinda like thaksin did with the checks and balances set up here in Thailand, and thereby defeating the purpose of a check and balance. Didn't you understand what I was referring to?

That's a president's prerogative. Elections have consequences.