AG Barr says Trump has fired Manhattan US attorney Geoffrey Berman after he refused to step down

• Attorney General William Barr said in a letter Saturday that at his request, President Donald Trump has fired Manhattan US attorney Geoffrey Berman.
• Minutes later, however, Trump said he was "not involved" in Berman's firing and that the decision was up to Barr.
• Barr abruptly announced late Friday that Berman would be "stepping down" from his role as the US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
• Berman released a statement later Friday saying that he will not step down and will continue serving in his capacity until the Senate confirms a presidentially nominated successor.
• "I was surprised and disappointed by the press statement you released last night," Barr said in his letter to Berman on Saturday. "Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so."
• Legal experts say the attorney general cannot unilaterally fire Berman because Berman was placed in his position via judicial appointment.
• But the longstanding view of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel is that while the attorney general can't remove someone like Berman, the president can, which Barr emphasized in his letter.

Attorney General William Barr said Saturday that at his request, President Donald Trump has fired Manhattan US attorney Geoffrey Berman.

But minutes later, Trump told reporters that he was "not involved" in Berman's firing and that the decision was up to Barr.

The attorney general abruptly announced late Friday that Berman would be "stepping down" from his role. Berman subsequently released a statement saying he will not step down and will continue to serve as acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York until the Senate confirms a presidentially nominated successor.

"I was surprised and disappointed by the press statement you released last night," Barr said in a letter to Berman on Saturday. "As we discussed, I wanted the opportunity to choose a distinguished New York lawyer, Jay Clayton, to nominate as United States Attorney and was hoping for your cooperation to facilitate a smooth transition."

Barr added: "When the Department of Justice advised the public of the President's intent to nominate your successor, I had understood that we were in ongoing discussions concerning the possibility of your remaining in the Department or Administration in one of the other senior positions we discussed … While we adivsed the public that you would leave the U.S. Attorney's office in two weeks, I still hoped that your departure would be amicable."

However, the attorney general said, Berman chose "public spectacle over public service" by releasing a statement saying he would not step down.

"Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so," Barr wrote.

In the interim, Barr said Audrey Strauss, the deputy US attorney for the Southern District of New York, will serve as acting US attorney until the Senate confirms a successor.

Legal experts say the attorney general cannot unilaterally fire Berman because Berman was placed in his position via judicial appointment. But the longstanding view of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel is that while the attorney general can't remove someone like Berman, the president can, which Barr emphasized in his letter.

Berman said Friday that he learned of his apparent intent to step down from Barr's announcement and had no knowledge of the decision beforehand.

"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," Berman said.

"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," he added. "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 insure that this Office's important cases continue unimpeded."

Berman also showed up to work on Saturday, telling reporters outside the SDNY's main building that he was "just here to do my job.

Under Berman's tenure, the SDNY conducted or is conducting multiple investigations into Trump associates and other interests linked to the president.

• Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, is being investigated over his business dealings in Ukraine and whether he failed to register as a foreign agent.
• SDNY charged two of Giuliani's Ukrainian business associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, with conspiring to violate straw and foreign donor bans.
• Berman's office successfully prosecuted Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime former lawyer, who implicated Trump in several crimes including campaign finance violations and tax fraud.
• The Manhattan US attorney's office subpoenaed Trump's inaugural committee as part of an investigation into potential criminal conduct including accepting illegal foreign contributions at inaugural events.
• The SDNY charged then Republican Rep. Chris Collins, a staunch Trump supporter, with insider trading in late 2018. Collins has since resigned.
• Berman's office is one of several federal entities investigating Deutsche Bank, which has long-running financial ties to the Trump family and Trump Organization.

Tensions between Berman and Barr have heated up recently as the two men butted heads over the handling of some cases, including the department's indictment of the Turkish state-owned bank Halkbank. Turkey spent millions of dollars lobbying the White House, Congress, and the State Department to ask the Justice Department not to investigate the bank.

Former national security adviser John Bolton claimed in his upcoming book that Trump assured Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he would intervene to stop the SDNY's Halkbank investigation.

CNN also reported in February that Barr "personally spearheaded" an effort last year to shield Halkbank from prosecution and negotiate a settlement with the bank that would have allowed it to avoid being indicted. The SDNY ultimately charged Halkbank in federal court for its alleged participation in a multi-billion dollar Iranian effort to sidestep sanctions.