When 74-year-old President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20, 2020, U.S. Atty. for the Southern District of New York 52-year-old Preet Bharara was given his walking papers, a custom that happens when presidents change hands. Preet put up a big fight but eventually, like his predecessors, accepted his fate leaving office March 11, 2017. Now his replacement 60-year U.S. Atty. Geoffrey Berman clings to his post after Atty. Gen. William Barr gave him his walking papers. Appointed as U.S. Atty. Jan. 5, 2018 by U.S. District Court, Berman’s racked up so high profile prosecutions in less that two years, prosecuting Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, Florida businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Furman both of whom were charged with campaign finance violations and investigating Trump’s 76-year-old personal attorney former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for his work in Ukraine.
Berman, like Bharara before him, refused to step down after asked to do so by Atty. Gen. Bill Barr. Today, Trump stepped in, firing Berman, leaving no doubt what he should do. Berman had refused to honor Barr’s request, stating he would stay in place until Congress approved his replacement. Trump’s decision leaves no doubt now that Berman must clean out his desk and turn in his keys. “Unfortunately, with your statement last night, you have chose public spectacle over public service,” Barr said, refuting Berman’s statement that he was duty-bound to continue in his job until a replacement was named. Barr called Berman’s statement “false,” prompting Trump to intervene. Under Article 2, Berman knows Trump has every right to hire-or-fire anyone in the Executive Branch at his own discretion. Berman’s ouster falls on the eve of former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s book release.
Democrats and the press screamed politics, accusing Trump and Barr of protecting Giuliani from an ongoing probe of his activities in Ukraine without registering himself as a foreign agent. Democrats and the press made the same argument when Trump fired 59-year-old former FBI Director James Comey May 9, 2017. Democrats contended then that Trump tried to obstruct justice, when Comey was just one person involved in his counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign. Democrats hoped at the time that Comey would find impeachable offenses. Democrats and press weren’t concerned at all that Comey launched an illegal counterintelligence investigation predicated on former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s opposition research AKA “the Steele Dossier.” Today, Barr and U.S. Atty. John Durham investigate Comey’s criminal deeds.
Berman’s firing in comparison to Comey is no big deal but it prompts the same hue-and-cry from Democrats and the press that there’s some kind of cover up or obstruction of justice, this time to protect Giuliani. “Your statement also wrongly implies that your continued tenure in the office is necessary to ensure that cases now pending in the Southern District of New York are handled appropriately,” Barr said, throwing cold water on Berman’s argument. Berman’s another prize possession of Democrats and the press to charge Trump with more cover-ups and obstruction of justice. Barr nominated Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to replace Berman, clearly something within Trump’s discretion. But instead of accepting Trump authority under Article 2, Democrats and the press cry foul. “Power to remove a court-appointed U.S. attorney rests with the president,” Barr said.
Democrats insist that Berman was hot the he trail of business dealings with Turkish bank tied to autocratic Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While it’s pure speculation about something nefarious, it fits right in with the mass hysteria over Bolton’s book, saying Trump is unfit for duty. Forget about the fact that Bolton, while NSA Director, urged Trump to go to war with North Korea, Iran, Russia and Venezuela, but that doesn’t touch fitness for duty to Democrats and Press. Bolton was one of the most hated GOP foreign policy advisers until he turned against Trump. Now Bolton’s cited by the New York Times, Washington Post and most broadcast outlets, especially ABC News, as proof of Trump’s incompetence. When it comes to Berman, the press implies that Trump fired Berman to protect Rudy Giuliani, something so preposterous that it doesn’t deserve a response.
Berman did do some good things, especially prosecuting Trump detractor and left-wing hero Atty. Michael Avenatti for trying to extort $25 million from Nike. Avenatti was a favorite pundit against Trump in the New York Times and CNN until he was indicted and convicted of extortion. Berman actually once worked for the same law firm as Giuliani, winning over his critics when he went after Rudy. When the FBI raided Michael Cohen’s offices April 9, 2018, Trump called the act a “politically motivated witch hunt.” Berman, for some reason, withdrew any involvement in the case. Firing Berman fits the Democrat and media narrative well, as Bolton gets approval to publish his tell-all book June 21. Adding to the intrigue, the media hypes Berman’s firing as another nefarious event connected to the Trump White House. When Trump speaks tonight in Tulsa, he’ll set the record straight.
