Trump just tried to remove the SDNY prosecutor investigating him

[time4fun]

Just when you thought the corruption couldn't get any worse, they just tried to remove the SDNY lead prosecutor who has been running investigations into numerous Trump associates:

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, Berman said he learned of his 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."

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.

This after illegally removing 4 independent government oversight watchdogs and replacing them with political appointees running the very agencies they're supposed to providing oversight of.

And after he has had Barr interfere with Cases against Trump associates to try to stop the prosecutions or substantially reduce sentencing.

And after blackmailing the Ukraine to get them to announce a phony investigation into a political rival.

This is a level of corruption this country hasn't seen since Hoover's blatant abuses of the DoJ- which is what prompted the agency rules in place to keep these things from happening. These are the kinds of things that happen in corrupt countries run by authoritarians. This isn't what America is supposed to be.

[Tgo01]

Hasn't this guy been "investigating" Trump since like before Trump ever took office?

Democrats just found the perfect loophole: always be investigating your boss or publicly say how much you dislike your boss and you can apparently keep your job forever because if you're fired you can just screech "corruption!"

Oh wait, until a Democrat gets back in the White House, then it will suddenly be okay to fire people investigating you or blowing all those whistles, you know like what Obama did for 8 years and not one peep from the likes of time4fun.

[Seran]

Just when you thought the corruption couldn't get any worse, they just tried to remove the SDNY lead prosecutor who has been running investigations into numerous Trump associates:



This after illegally removing 4 independent government oversight watchdogs and replacing them with political appointees running the very agencies they're supposed to providing oversight of.

And after he has had Barr interfere with Cases against Trump associates to try to stop the prosecutions or substantially reduce sentencing.

And after blackmailing the Ukraine to get them to announce a phony investigation into a political rival.

This is a level of corruption this country hasn't seen since Hoover's blatant abuses of the DoJ- which is what prompted the agency rules in place to keep these things from happening. These are the kinds of things that happen in corrupt countries run by authoritarians. This isn't what America is supposed to be.

It's going to take a while to undo all the corruption and damage the president has done to our government and independent justice department.

[Ardwen]

As he wasn't in office before Trump took office he couldn't have been investigating him, this was Bharara's office well into the Trump Administration. He was appointed by a court when Trump refused to name a new SDNY chief for whatever reason. He is Investigating Giuliani and Deutschbank, Among likely hundreds of other more mundane cases. He's been acting for more then 2 years, no one was ever nominated for the office that is why he's still there.

[ClydeR]

In his statement announcing that Berman is stepping down, Barr gave the outgoing US Attorney high praise. Berman can put it on his resume when he starts looking for a new job. Also, Barr misspelled Jeff.

With tenacity and savvy, Geoff has done an excellent job leading one of our nation’s most significant U.S. Attorney’s Offices, achieving many successes on consequential civil and criminal matters.

More...

[ClydeR]

Berman's statement was not nearly as nice as Barr's statement. Berman didn't say a single nice thing about Barr. And what are the "investigations" to which he refers?

“I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was ‘stepping down’ as United States Attorney. 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. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption. 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 ensure that this Office’s important cases continue unimpeded.”

More...

[~Rocktar~]

It's going to take a while to undo all the corruption and damage the president has done to our government and independent justice department.

Yes, it will take decades to fix the damage Obama has done.

[Methais]

Just when you thought the corruption couldn't get any worse, they just tried to remove the SDNY lead prosecutor who has been running investigations into numerous Trump associates:



This after illegally removing 4 independent government oversight watchdogs and replacing them with political appointees running the very agencies they're supposed to providing oversight of.

And after he has had Barr interfere with Cases against Trump associates to try to stop the prosecutions or substantially reduce sentencing.

And after blackmailing the Ukraine to get them to announce a phony investigation into a political rival.

This is a level of corruption this country hasn't seen since Hoover's blatant abuses of the DoJ- which is what prompted the agency rules in place to keep these things from happening. These are the kinds of things that happen in corrupt countries run by authoritarians. This isn't what America is supposed to be.

You smell like onions.

[Furryrat]

Just when you thought the corruption couldn't get any worse, they just tried to remove the SDNY lead prosecutor who has been running investigations into numerous Trump associates:



This after illegally removing 4 independent government oversight watchdogs and replacing them with political appointees running the very agencies they're supposed to providing oversight of.

And after he has had Barr interfere with Cases against Trump associates to try to stop the prosecutions or substantially reduce sentencing.

And after blackmailing the Ukraine to get them to announce a phony investigation into a political rival.

This is a level of corruption this country hasn't seen since Hoover's blatant abuses of the DoJ- which is what prompted the agency rules in place to keep these things from happening. These are the kinds of things that happen in corrupt countries run by authoritarians. This isn't what America is supposed to be.

Not tried, he will be removed once the Senate confirms his replacement. He was appointed to the role as an interim replacement by Jeff Sessions after Trump dismissed his predecessor Preet Bharara. He was not an arbiter of truth against Trump, he charged Avenatti, Epstein and many others associated with both sides.

He was supposed to fill the role for 120 days, but was chosen to continue indefinitely by the District, in a very unusual move. The Southern District of NY seems to have an uncanny ability to sway people to do their bidding and uses their power to ruin and destroy anyone that stands in their way.

You know nothing of corruption. You are a child in a chair being fed with a spoon.

[time4fun]

Not tried, he will be removed once the Senate confirms his replacement. He was appointed to the role as an interim replacement by Jeff Sessions after Trump dismissed his predecessor Preet Bharara. He was not an arbiter of truth against Trump, he charged Avenatti, Epstein and many others associated with both sides.

He was supposed to fill the role for 120 days, but was chosen to continue indefinitely by the District, in a very unusual move. The Southern District of NY seems to have an uncanny ability to sway people to do their bidding and uses their power to ruin and destroy anyone that stands in their way.

You know nothing of corruption. You are a child in a chair being fed with a spoon.

He was initially appointed as interim, but since he wasn't able to get Senate confirmation he was later appointed by the Judiciary- which I presume is part of why he's able to just say no here.

SDNY doesn't have the uncanny ability to do anything- they're some of the best Federal prosecutors in the nation, and they take their work very seriously. And they don't take cases that they don't think they can win. All you're doing here is adding a fictional layer of interpretation that has no basis in reality.

So out of curiosity- if it had been President Clinton firing independent watchdogs and Prosecutors who were investigating her and her friends- are you telling me you would be absolutely fine with that?