Congressional Democrats hammered President Trump and Attorney General William Barr over the news that a U.S. attorney in Manhattan who was investigating associates of …
Congressional Democrats hammered President Trump and Attorney General William Barr over the news that a U. S. attorney in Manhattan who was investigating associates of the president was abruptly dismissed.
Democrats cast the sudden ouster of Geoffrey Berman, the U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who is probing Michael Cohen, Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies, as a constitutional crisis and evidence to their claims that Trump is trying to politicize the Justice Department. They also praised Berman for his refusal to step down.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N. Y.) suggested that Trump had Berman dismissed to protect himself from an ongoing probe, saying in a statement, “This late Friday night dismissal reeks of potential corruption of the legal process. What is angering President Trump? A previous action by this U. S. Attorney or one that is ongoing?”
“This is a bombshell. Was the attempted stealth removal of the US Attorney done by AG [Barr] to protect [Donald Trump] or his associates from investigation or prosecution? We need to find out,” added Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N. J.).
Democrats in Washington have long accused Trump of seeking to purge the government of officials he deems insufficiently loyal, pointing to high-profile firings in the Department of Justice and elsewhere in the administration.
