US Attorney Who Investigated Trump Associates Refuses to Step Down

By Staff, CNN

In a fast-escalating crisis Friday night, US 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 prosecutor’s 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.

Berman's rebuttal came about an hour after the Department of Justice announced Trump intends to nominate Jay Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has never been a prosecutor.

According to CNN, a Justice Department official said that Berman was offered other positions at Justice, including the head of the civil division, where assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt abruptly announced his departure this week. However, Berman declined.

A second source with knowledge of the matter said Berman was asked to resign and refused. Barr asked Berman to resign in an in-person meeting in New York on Friday, the source said.

The timing of the move, announced after 9 p.m. ET, immediately raised questions about the circumstances regarding Berman's departure.

Meanwhile, any forced ouster of Berman is likely to draw scrutiny inside the US attorney's office and among career prosecutors. He has been the US attorney for Manhattan since 2018, and under his leadership, his office prosecuted Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen, is investigating top Trump confidante Rudy Giuliani and indicted the former New York mayor's associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman.