| In SDNY Berman Said He Will
Stay Until Senate Confirms Clayton Now Trump
Fires
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
June 20 – Geoffrey S. Berman
was late June 19 announced to
be leaving as U.S. Attorney
for the Southern District of
New York - not by himself but
by the DOJ, which said Jay
Clayton of the SEC would be
nominated to replace Berman.
But right
after, Berman said he "has not
resigned," and will not until
a “presidentially appointed
nominee is confirmed by the
Senate."
And
now on June 20, Attorney
General Barr has written to
Berman, "Unfortunately, with
your statement of last night,
you have chosen public
spectacle over public
service... I have asked the
President to remove you as of
today, and he has done so."
Audrey Strauss will now be
temporary acting U.S.
attorney. Barr noted that he
had offered Berman other
positions in the
administration, including head
of the Civil Division at Main
Justice. But Berman declined
the offer and was subsequently
fired. But by Trump? He says
he was not involved. Now what?
For now we
note, because others haven't,
the ethical issues that have
been raised by SDNY Judge
Alison Nathan about the Office's
non compliance with Brady
leading to the dropping with
prejudice of the sanctions
violations guilty verdicts
against Iranian banker Ali
Sadr Hashemi Nejad, on a
Venezuelan housing project, here.
Inner City Press,
which closely covers the U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
(as well as the EDNY, IMF and
UN) immediately wondered what
having an ex-SEC chairman
might mean for cases in the
SDNY like those against
Telegram, or alleged North
Korea sanctions violator
Virgil Griffith.
But now,
of course, there are other
questions. Watch this site.
But while
we will be reporting on this
going forward it's worth
noting mid-fight Geoffrey
Berman's hands-on approach,
seen most recently in the
Coronavirus pandemic.
In March,
when many had already fled the
courthouse at 500 Pearl Street
and Inner City Press was alone
in the back row of the
Magistrates Court on the fifth
floor, in came Berman, to
check out how presentments
work.
Not much before,
he had slipped into a Bronx
drug murder case that only
Inner City Press was covering,
to witness the rare cross
examination of the defendant
who took the stand. He spoke,
too, on the
elevator.
One improvement,
whoever is in for the next
months, that could and should
be brought would be the
automatic provision of the
exhibits the SDNY prosecutors
use in trials, when they
resume. This has still not
been done in the OneCoin
case, despite a FOIA
request from Inner City Press.
And why is the case against
Honduras' El Tigre Bonilla,
announced April 30, still
sealed?
These and other
issues will be continued to be
raised. Watch this site.
***
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