The New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt said on MSNBC, “It’s worse than you thought.” He was referring to Donald Trump using the Department of Justice (DOJ) as his own vendetta machine. Former U.S. Southern District of New York (SDNY) attorney Geoffrey Berman’s stunning new book, Holding the Line, is the catalyst for the Senate Judiciary Committee to begin yet another investigation into the ex-president.
Senator Richard (Dick) Durbin (D-IL) wrote a letter to Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland about the gnarled issues revealed by the book. Then, the senator announced the Judicial Committee’s investigation, noting that the DOJ was involved in “unacceptable deviations” according to The New York Times.:
‘These reported claims indicate astonishing and unacceptable deviations from the department’s mission to pursue impartial justice, which requires that its prosecutorial decisions be free from political influence.’
Durban continued:
‘[The allegations] also compound the already serious concerns [about Trump’s ability] o replace Mr. Berman with a Trump loyalist.’
Berman commented that he was “happy to cooperate:”
‘As anyone who reads my book will know, I believe in proper process. I am happy to cooperate with any congressional inquiry.’
The SDNY attorney wrote in his book that Edward O’Callaghan told Berman’s former deputy:
‘It’s time for you guys to even things out.’
The book, Holding the Line: Inside the Nation’s Preeminent US Attorney’s Office and Its Battle with the Trump Justice Department was published by Penguin Random House. The publisher wrote:
‘Berman found himself pushing back against the Trump Justice Department’s blatant efforts to bring weak cases against political foes and squash worthy cases that threatened to tarnish allies and Trump himself. When Bill Barr became attorney general, Berman hoped and believed things would get better, but instead they got much worse.’
There were clear-cut cases of political interference:
- Barr told Berman to stop the conviction of Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen for “violating campaign finance laws.” Then, a Southern District official convinced Barr there was no reason to drop the case.
- Trump also wanted the attorney to investigate the former Secretary of State John Kerry. Berman declined, so Barr went to another district. But that attorney also refused to investigate Kerry.
- And in September 2018, a DOJ official called Berman’s deputy. Trump via Barr wanted a prominent Democratic attorney Gregory Craig investigated by Election Day, totally breaking with the DOJ’s mandate to not investigate political crimes 60 days prior to an election. A Washington DC federal prosecutor did indict Craig for “making false statements.” However, a jury acquitted the attorney in fewer than five hours.
Berman said no. And Trump fired him.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
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