Geoffrey Berman, United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, arrives at his office in New York, June 20, 2020. /AP
A stand-off between U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Manhattan's top federal prosecutor Geoffrey Berman ended on Saturday, after Berman agreed to step down from his post as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York following news that President Donald Trump had fired him.
Berman's departure comes amid an investigation by his office into Trump's personal attorney, Rudolph Giuliani. It came after Barr said 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."
The standoff with Berman follows the latest in a series of unusual moves by Barr that critics say are meant to benefit Trump politically and undermine the independence of the Justice Department.
The row 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 confirms his successor, and that his office's investigations would continue.
U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Attorney General William Barr (L) speaks before Trump signs an executive order aimed at curbing protections for social media giants in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, May 28, 2020. /AP
On Friday, Barr said he had picked Craig Carpenito, the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, to serve as Acting U.S. Attorney until Clayton's confirmation.
But on Saturday Barr back-tracked from that plan, saying in a letter to Berman that Trump had fired him at Barr's request, and that Strauss would take over in an acting capacity.
Barr said in the letter that he was "surprised and quite disappointed" by Berman's statement on Friday night in which he refused to quit his job, saying Berman had chosen "public spectacle over public service."
"I have asked the president to remove you as of today, and he has done so," Barr told Berman in the letter.
Berman later confirmed in a statement he would be leaving "immediately."
The dispute has pitted the government against much of Washington's legal community – and has apparently set Barr against Trump, who denied any involvement in the case.
Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump appeared to contradict Barr's letter, saying Berman's firing was a matter for Barr and was not his "department."
"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.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks to reporters as he arrives for a New Year's Eve party hosted by Trump at his Mar-a-Lago property, Florida, December 31, 2019. /AP
'Unacceptable politicization' of Justice Department
Berman had overseen the prosecution of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and probed advisor Giuliani's efforts to discredit the president's political opponents.
Berman, a Republican who held a position in Trump's transition team and was once a law partner of Giuliani, has pursued cases against tycoon sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell last year.
He has also investigated two associates of Giuliani accused of campaign finance violations and helping dig up dirt on Trump's election challenger Joe Biden as part of the Ukraine scandal over which Trump was impeached.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged the Justice Department's inspector general to launch an investigation into "blatantly corrupt DOJ interference."
Meanwhile Jerry Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, accused Barr of repeatedly interfering in "criminal investigations on Trump's behalf."
The committee said in a statement it would "immediately open an investigation into this incident, as part of our broader investigation into Barr's unacceptable politicization of the Department of Justice."
Two whistleblowers are scheduled to testify Wednesday on "why Barr's attempt to fire Mr. Berman is part of a larger, ongoing, and wholly unacceptable pattern of conduct," the statement added.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 20, 2020. /AP
The Trump administration has in recent months fired or demoted inspectors general for the Pentagon, the intelligence community and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as a senior health official who questioned Trump's promotion of unproven drug therapies for COVID-19.
State Department Inspector General Steve Linick was removed last month after running a misconduct probe into Washington's top diplomat and steadfast Trump ally Mike Pompeo.
Meanwhile Barr has been accused of repeatedly acting as Trump's personal lawyer instead of in the interests of the public following the Justice Department's intervention in several cases involving Trump allies.
More than 1,000 former department officials signed a statement calling for Barr's resignation over his interference to get a lighter sentence for longtime Trump friend Roger Stone.
Since then Barr has been berated for his department's decision to drop the case against Trump's first national security advisor Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying about his Russia contacts to the FBI.
(With input from Reuters, AFP)