Removal of SDNY U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman: Premature Resignation Announcement and Firing During Active Investigation of Trump Allies
Tier 3Documented2020-06-19 to 2020-06-20
Factual Summary
On the evening of June 19, 2020, Attorney General William Barr issued a press release announcing that Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was "stepping down" from his position, effective July 3, 2020. Barr stated that Jay Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission with no prior criminal prosecution experience, would be nominated as Berman's replacement.
Within hours, Berman issued a statement contradicting Barr, saying: "I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position." Berman stated that he would remain in office until a Senate-confirmed successor was in place, as required under the statute governing U.S. Attorney vacancies. The contradiction between Barr's announcement and Berman's refusal created an extraordinary public standoff between the Attorney General and one of the most prominent federal prosecutors in the country.
On June 20, 2020, Barr sent Berman a letter stating: "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." Trump, however, told reporters the same day that the decision was Barr's, stating, "That's his department, not my department." Berman agreed to step down after receiving assurances that his deputy, Audrey Strauss, would serve as acting U.S. Attorney and that ongoing investigations would not be disrupted.
At the time of his removal, Berman's office was overseeing several investigations directly connected to Trump and his associates. The SDNY was investigating Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, for potential crimes related to his activities in Ukraine. The office had previously prosecuted Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, and was involved in investigations touching on the Trump Organization's business practices. Berman later testified before the House Judiciary Committee that he believed his removal was connected to the office's investigations and that he had twice refused requests from Barr to resign before the public confrontation.
Berman also testified that Barr had previously asked him to sign a letter supporting the administration's position in a case involving Trump, which Berman declined to do. Berman stated that Barr had offered him other positions in the Department of Justice, which he interpreted as attempts to move him away from the SDNY's ongoing cases.
The attempted removal drew bipartisan concern about the independence of federal prosecutors, particularly given the SDNY's historical reputation as an office that operated with significant autonomy from the Attorney General. Senate Judiciary Committee members from both parties questioned the timing and circumstances of the removal.
Primary Sources
1. Attorney General Barr press release announcing Berman's departure, June 19, 2020
2. Geoffrey Berman public statement refusing to resign, June 19, 2020
3. Barr letter to Berman confirming presidential removal, June 20, 2020
4. Geoffrey Berman testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, July 9, 2020
Corroborating Sources
1. NPR: "Trump Fires Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney Who Prosecuted His Allies, Barr Says," June 20, 2020
2. NBC News: "Ex-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, fired by Trump, twice refused to resign," July 9, 2020
3. CNN: "Geoffrey Berman is leaving office immediately after standoff with Trump administration," June 20, 2020
4. CNN: "Fired federal Manhattan prosecutor argued Trump didn't have legal authority to remove him," July 13, 2020
5. Stanford Law School: "Stanford Criminal Law Experts on Firing of Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York," June 20, 2020
Counterarguments and Context
The Justice Department maintained that the president has the constitutional authority to remove U.S. Attorneys and that the decision to replace Berman was a routine personnel matter. Barr stated that Clayton was a "superbly qualified" nominee who would bring valuable experience from the SEC. Administration supporters argued that U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president and that no administration is required to retain holdover appointees indefinitely. They noted that incoming presidents routinely replace U.S. Attorneys from the prior administration. Berman himself had originally been appointed on an interim basis and was subsequently appointed by the federal court when the Trump administration did not submit a formal nomination. Critics responded that the timing of the removal, during active investigations of the president's personal attorney, the false announcement that Berman had resigned before he had agreed to leave, the attempt to install a nominee with no prosecutorial experience, and Berman's testimony about prior pressure from Barr collectively indicated that the removal was connected to the SDNY's investigations rather than a routine personnel action.
Author's Note
This entry is classified as Tier 3 because the events are documented through primary evidence, including official correspondence between Barr and Berman, Berman's public statements, his sworn congressional testimony, and contemporaneous reporting confirmed by multiple sources. No formal investigation or legal proceeding established that the removal was motivated by a desire to interfere with specific investigations, but the circumstantial evidence documented here, combined with Berman's own testimony, supports inclusion as documented obstruction-related conduct.