Barr: If I Wanted To Meddle In SDNY, I Wouldn’t Have Fired Berman

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 1: U.S. Attorney General William Barr testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee May 1, 2019 in Washington, DC. Barr testified on the Justice Department's investigation of Russian interferen... WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 1: U.S. Attorney General William Barr testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee May 1, 2019 in Washington, DC. Barr testified on the Justice Department's investigation of Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Attorney General Bill Barr defended himself against allegations of mendacity in an interview with ABC, offering his view of what led to the firing of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman.

Barr said that “even if one were interested in trying to influence a case you wouldn’t do it by removing … the head of the office.”

“That’s simply not how the Southern District of New York or the Department as a whole operates,” the attorney general added. “So it’s actually ludicrous and I felt it was just simply not a plausible basis for not making a change there.”

Berman testified to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that Barr had pushed him out with the aim of delaying investigations that SDNY is conducting.

Initially, Barr wanted to replace Berman with an attorney from outside the office — a highly irregular move. In issuing a press release last month disputing a statement from Barr saying that he had resigned, Berman pointedly noted that investigations at his office would continue.

In the interview, Barr denied that he had been misleading in issuing a statement saying that Berman had resigned.

Instead, the attorney general opted to dispute the meaning of the phrase “stepped down.”

“I don’t know what he’s describing,” Barr said, referring to Berman’s allegation that Barr lied in saying that Berman had resigned. “It was not misleading. Stepping down is a term that we use. It’s ambiguous as to what the basis for it is.”

“We said he was stepping down which is usually the language we use in these — in these kinds of announcements,” Barr addd. “But it left open the possibility that once he saw that he was leaving the position, that he’d be interested in figuring out other alternatives.”

Barr argued more broadly that he hadn’t interfered in federal criminal cases for political reasons.

“I’d like to hear some examples of people we’ve charged that they think were unrighteous cases to bring,” Barr said.

Latest Muckraker

Notable Replies

  1. “I don’t know what he’s describing,” Barr said, referring to Berman’s allegation that Barr lied in saying that Berman had resigned. “It was not misleading. Stepping down is a term that we use. It’s ambiguous as to what the basis for it is.”

    that’s not even grasping at straws, that’s simply making shit up

  2. Somebody’s getting a wee bit nervous

  3. Barr’s torturing of the English language and logic proves his mendacity.

  4. Avatar for krux krux says:

    “Stepping down” is done by choice. It’s not ambiguous, you treasonous toad.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

94 more replies

Participants

Avatar for stefano Avatar for sysprog Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for jackster Avatar for rollinnolan Avatar for dont Avatar for sniffit Avatar for lastroth Avatar for gr Avatar for kitty Avatar for darrtown Avatar for smoscom Avatar for noonm Avatar for birdford Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for libthinker Avatar for busdrivermike Avatar for occamscoin Avatar for progressiveandsane Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for daninillinois Avatar for filmknight Avatar for Volvo_Birkenstock Avatar for PrimeTime

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: