By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
Donald Trump guaranteed lots of drama during his reign as president, and he hasn’t disappointed.
The latest: The Trump administration announced Friday night that Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman was leaving his post, but Berman fired back that he hadn’t resigned and would stay to ensure the integrity of his office’s cases, the Washington Post reports.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York has always prided itself for being independent. That image is even portrayed in the fictional show, “Billions,” on Showtime, starring Paul Giamatti, who plays the U.S. Attorney.
The controversy arises as Berman’s office has been conducting a criminal investigation of President Trump’s lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani in a campaign finance case that has already led to charges against two of Giuliani’s associates, the Post notes.
“I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was ‘stepping down’ as United States Attorney,” Berman said in a statement. “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.”
Attorney General William Barr offered Berman the job of heading the Justice Department’s Civil Division, but he declined.
Prior to becoming United States Attorney on January 5, 2018, Berman was a partner at a major New York law firm.
Her served as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1990 to 1994. Before joining the U. S. Attorney’s Office, Berman was an associate counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel for the Iran/Contra matter.
