Politics Barr guts the SDNY / Update: SDNY Chief says F' you to Barr! Update 2: Who knows?

Bill Barr's Justice Department abruptly announces they are replacing the US attorney who led investigations into Trump allies including Rudy Giuliani

• 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 Trump intends to nominate Jay Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to the post
• Berman oversaw key prosecutions of allies of Donald Trump and an investigation into the president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani
• His resignation is likely to raise additional questions from congressional Democrats who have accused Barr of politicizing the Justice Department

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.

The news comes just days after former national security adviser John Bolton claimed in his tell-all book that Trump promised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he´d interfere in Halkbank case that was being prosecuted in the Southern District.

The office has prosecuted a number of Trump associates, including Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who served a prison sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance crimes, and has also been investigating Giuliani and his associates.

Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating Giuliani´s business dealings, including whether he failed to register as a foreign agent, according to people familiar with the probe. The people were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Berman, a Republican who contributed to the president´s election campaign, worked for the same law firm as Giuliani and was put in his job by the Trump administration. But as U.S. attorney, he won over some skeptics after he went after Trump allies.

He had recused himself from directly overseeing the Cohen investigation for reasons that were never disclosed.

Berman was appointed by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January 2018, months after former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was fired after refusing to resign along with dozens of other federal prosecutors appointed by President Barack Obama.

Three months later, FBI agents raided Cohen's offices, an act the president decried as a politically motivated witch hunt.

Berman has taken a direct hand in other investigations that have angered Trump.

His office subpoenaed Trump´s inaugural committee for a wide range of documents as part of an investigation into various potential crimes, including possible illegal contributions from foreigners to inaugural events.

And weeks before the 2018 midterm election, Berman announced insider trading charges against an ardent Trump supporter, Republican Rep. Chris Collins. Collins, who represented western New York, has since resigned.

Under Berman's tenure, his office also brought charges against Michael Avenatti, the combative lawyer who gained fame by representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in lawsuits involving Trump.

Avenatti was convicted in February of trying to extort sportswear giant Nike after prosecutors said he threatened to use his media access to hurt Nike´s reputation and stock price unless the company paid him up to $25 million.

The Southern District of New York is one of the nation´s premiere districts, trying major mob cases and terror cases over the years. If the mastermind of the September 11 attacks had been tried in a court of law, it would have been there.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ey-oversaw-cases-Trump-allies-steps-down.html

 

Oh shit, shit's crackin'!

 

'I have not resigned': Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman fires back at Barr, who says he's leaving
"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," Berman said.

Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, plans to step down and President Donald Trump will nominate the current chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission to succeed him, Attorney General William Barr announced Friday evening.

But Berman said he learned of the plan in a Justice Department press release and shot back that he has no intention of stepping down.


"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," he said in a statement late Friday night.

Word of Barr's announcement caught senior officials in the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office off guard. His office prosecuted former Trump confidante Michael Cohen, though he was recused from involvement in the case. And he was overseeing the investigation of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani's business activities.

Barr said the president will nominate Jay Clayton to succeed Berman.

"For the past three years, Jay has been an extraordinarily successful SEC Chairman, overseeing efforts to modernize regulation of the capital markets, protect Main Street investors, enhance American competitiveness, and address challenges ranging from cybersecurity issues to the COVID-19 pandemic."

He said Berman "has done an excellent job leading one of our nation's most significant U.S. attorney's offices, achieving many successes on consequential civil and criminal matters."

Until Clayton can be nominated and confirmed, Barr said, Craig Carpenito, the United States Attorney in New Jersey, will serve as acting US attorney in New York. Berman's statement, however, said he has no intention of leaving his position vacant.

Berman has also overseen the prosecution of two Florida businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, former associates of Giuliani who were tied to the Ukraine impeachment investigation. Berman's office filed charges last fall, accusing them of violating federal campaign finance laws.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...an-who-investigated-trump-associates-n1231628

 

Is Clayton even a lawyer?

 

Yes but he has zero prosecutorial experience.

ZERO.

 

For once, I hope something sticks. I'm kind of tired of all these bombshells turn into snap-its instead of an m-80.

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!