Congress Announces Sudden Probe Of Bill Barr Over SDNY Meddling

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It’s become an obvious pattern in Trump’s White House: commit corrupt acts, break the law, violate the Constitution…then fire the investigators. Just as James Comey, Steven Linick, and the Ukraine whistleblower suddenly became corrupt criminals as soon as they were revealed to have been investigating anyone in Trump’s orbit, it’s likely that Geoffrey Berman, the SDNY attorney general who was investigating Rudy Giuliani, will be the subject of many outraged Trump tweets.

That will be especially true once two whistleblowers speak in front of Congress about Attorney General William Barr’s firing of Berman, which he announced on Friday was a resignation. After Berman said publicly that he had never resigned and that he wasn’t going anywhere, the story changed. Congress now intends to investigate the firing as well as an ongoing pattern of DOJ firings beginning on Wednesday.

In a statement, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said:

‘Last night, Attorney General Bill Barr told us that Geoffrey Berman of the SDNY had resigned—which was untrue.  Today, Barr told us that the President asked him to fire Mr. Berman—which may also be untrue, given that the President says he had nothing to do with the decision.  The whole thing smacks of corruption and incompetence, which is what we have come to expect from this President and his Attorney General.’

On Saturday, Barr’s story about Berman’s “resignation” was changed to a firing. In a press conference, Barr sent out a message to Berman that because he “made a spectacle” of his firing, Barr had asked Trump to fire Berman and he had.

There’s a problem with that story, though. Trump says he had nothing to do with the firing. For that reason and many others that make the story shakier with every revelation, a new investigation into the Trump administration’s corruption will begin.

‘”Neither the President nor the Department of Justice have offered any explanation for Mr. Berman’s purported dismissal.  We know that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is engaged in investigations aimed at President Trump’s inner circle.  We know, from revelations earlier this week, that the President wanted to have ‘his own people’ in that office to help him with his personal and political needs.  And we know that, time and time again, Bill Barr has reached into ongoing criminal investigations in order to protect the President from their consequences.  The American people are right to be outraged.  Barr may sit in the office of the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, but he clearly cares very little about the law.’

The two whistleblowers who will be speaking to the House Judiciary Committee say they not only have proof that there were corrupt motives in the firing of Berman, but that Barr has made a habit out of firing people who were investigating Trump’s inner circle.

Nadler noted this, saying:

‘The House Judiciary Committee will immediately open an investigation into this incident, as part of our broader investigation into Barr’s unacceptable politicization of the Department of Justice. On Wednesday, the Committee will hear from two whistleblowers who will explain why Barr’s attempt to fire Mr. Berman is part of a larger, ongoing, and wholly unacceptable pattern of conduct. If the President removes Mr. Berman, then we will take additional steps to secure his testimony as well.”‘

Featured image screenshot via YouTube