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An Attempt At A Real Simple Explanation Of What Happened At The Justice Department This Weekend
And why there’s no way of possibly knowing right away where any of it will lead
It started with Attorney General Bill Barr announcing the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman was going to be “stepping down”. To be replaced on an interim basis by the U.S. Attorney from New Jersey, and ultimately the current Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Southern District, which includes New York City, is considered one of the most powerful if not the most powerful, and often operates quite independently from Washington, although Barr is ultimately its boss, and Trump is his. Ironically, maybe, it was in this office that Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani first made a name for himself. And keep in mind, Berman himself was a Trump hire, after Trump fired Obama holdover Preet Bharara, after saying he was keeping him on.
But then Berman said he had not stepped down, and would not step down, and Attorney General Bill Barr had no authorization to fire him. And showed up at his office Saturday morning. Which seemed to be true. Because even though Trump appointed Berman, he was never approved by the Senate, so his status was ultimately determined by a panel of judges. So only…
