Not my department
Barr is every bit as evil as anyone thought but not as fiendishly clever. Not so clever at all really.
President Donald Trump on Saturday denied involvement in firing Geoffrey Berman, the powerful prosecutor atop the Manhattan US Attorney’s office, shortly after Trump’s attorney general sent Berman a letter saying the President had done so.
Who, me? Nah I didn’t. Pass the burgers.
Attorney General William Barr told Berman, whose office has led prosecutions and investigations of Trump’s allies, that Trump had agreed to remove him after he refused Barr’s effort a day prior to oust him.
“Unfortunately, with your statement of last night, you have chosen public spectacle over public service,” Barr wrote in his letter to Berman. “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.”
Rich coming from Barr, do admit – the guy who chooses Donald Trump’s ass over public service.
Speaking to reporters shortly after Barr’s letter was made public, however, Trump said, “That’s his department, not my department.” He added: “I’m not involved.”
AWKward.
Berman said in a statement several hours later that he would exit his post. “In light of Attorney General Barr’s decision to respect the normal operation of law and have Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss become Acting U.S. Attorney, I will be leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, effective immediately,” he said.
But it’s not going to be easy for Barr to slide a patsy into the job.
The fast-moving developments seemed to catch by surprise Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump’s and Barr’s, who said Saturday he had not been told about the effort to fire Berman. And in a significant announcement Saturday, Graham said he would honor tradition to let home-state senators sign off on a replacement for Berman’s post, meaning that Democrats essentially have veto power over a replacement to a position considered the most powerful US attorney job in the country.
Kind of a Friday night fizzle then.
Is this the work of the Pythons?
tigger, I was thinking Laurel and Hardy. I think the old saying is apt here: They could screw up a two car funeral.
Looks like Donnie ordered him fired without any official paper trail leading back to Trump, and Barr either didn’t read the script or covered his own sorry arse and pushed his boss under the boss.
Either way, I expect that Barr will be out of work soon.