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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."

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A top federal prosecutor in Manhattan stepped down from his position Saturday after the Trump administration fired him.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New York said in a statement that Attorney General William Barr’s decision “to respect the normal operation of law and have Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss become Acting U.S. Attorney” led to his decision. He said it would be “effective immediately.”

Berman and Barr had been in an increasingly nasty standoff after meeting in Manhattan on Friday. Afterward, the Justice Department announced Berman had resigned. Berman denied it, and he went to work Saturday.

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"In light of Attorney General Barr's decision to respect the normal operation of law and have Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss become Acting U.S. Attorney, I will be leaving the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, effective immediately. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as this District's U.S. Attorney and a custodian of its proud legacy, but I could leave the District in no better hands than Audrey's. She is the smartest, most principled, and effective lawyer with whom I have ever had the privilege of working. And I know that under her leadership, this Office's unparalleled AUSAs, investigators, paralegals, and staff will continue to safeguard the Southern District's enduring tradition of integrity and independence."

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Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Meanwhile, let the wrongful termination action commence!

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In Attorney General William Barr’s most recent public assessment, Geoffrey Berman was doing an exemplary job as Manhattan’s chief federal prosecutor.

There was talk of naming him to another weighty position in the Trump administration, including chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission or chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Division in Washington.

“With tenacity and savvy, Geoff has done an excellent job leading one of our nation’s most significant U.S. Attorney’s Offices,” Barr said late Friday night, adding that the prosecutor had achieved “many successes on consequential civil and criminal matters.”

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Originally posted by wtg:

Next move: Lindsey Graham

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued a statement calling for Clayton to withdraw from his nomination: “Forty seven years ago, Elliott Richardson had the courage to say no to a gross abuse of presidential power. Jay Clayton has a similar choice today: He can allow himself to be used in the brazen Trump-Barr scheme to interfere in investigations by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, or he can stand up to this corruption, withdraw his name from consideration, and save his own reputation from overnight ruin."

Schumer also called for the Justice Department inspector general to investigate why Berman's dismissal was ordered.