Twitter Explodes After SDNY US Att’y Fires Back at AG Barr Over Attempt at Forcing His Resignation: ‘Holy Sh*t’
Photo credit: Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images.
Legal and political pundits were similarly aghast as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman, publicly called out Attorney General Bill Barr and announced that he was not “stepping down” despite Barr’s late Friday night press release claiming that.
Such a raw, public feud between two of the most powerful figure in the nation’s Justice Department elicited both shock and awe online and prompted the deployment of ominous terms like “unprecedented,” “truly shocking,” “constitutional crisis,” and “impeachment.” If the Trump administration was trying bury a major personnel move in the news desert before a summer weekend amid several overlapping national crises and before a huge Trump rally, the gambit seemed to backfire. Instead, numerous people, and some members of Congress, immediately called for oversight and public hearings about the attempted “Friday night massacre.”
Holy crap. https://t.co/m8m0kuMvNj
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) June 20, 2020
https://t.co/sJzq19ogxD pic.twitter.com/ygIPa5mVeu
— David French (@DavidAFrench) June 20, 2020
Holy shit https://t.co/zkDjgDaAd0
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) June 20, 2020
This is exactly how the impeachment of Andrew Johnson started. https://t.co/hm2HteJnDc
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) June 20, 2020
Shit getting very real on a Friday night. https://t.co/K8CN8R05lf
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) June 20, 2020
Constitutional crises have become so common, they’ve lost that special feeling. https://t.co/rcs3FBFyEc
— Ted Robbins (@trobbinsnpr) June 20, 2020
Well that escalated quickly. https://t.co/1SXfuIYQh8
— Marty Kady (@mkady) June 20, 2020
We are completely off the map right now.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) June 20, 2020
Southern District of NY US Attorney Geoff Berman now saying he has not stepped down or resigned and will not leave until another US Attorney is confirmed by the Senate. He says administration can’t force him out until that happens bc he was appointed by the SDNY judges.
— Dan Abrams (@danabrams) June 20, 2020
The great irony of all of this is that the Trump administration’s decision to avoid the Senate, in my quick review and in Berman’s view, has the result of removing the authority from Trump and Barr to fire Berman — as they’re trying to do now. https://t.co/cJOyKP4CVd
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) June 20, 2020
Schumer’s statement on Barr’s late-night statement regarding SDNY AG:
“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?” pic.twitter.com/zkZYOnYHLq
— Chris Cioffi (@ReporterCioffi) June 20, 2020
I’m concerned about the sudden replacement of the United States Attorney in New York’s Southern District.
The new United States Attorney must be independent and uphold the rule of law, regardless of politics.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) June 20, 2020
America is right to expect the worst of Bill Barr, who has repeatedly interfered in criminal investigations on Trump’s behalf. We have a hearing on this topic on Wednesday. We welcome Mr. Berman’s testimony and will invite him to testify. https://t.co/SpVYzLhANR
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) June 20, 2020
So Berman is basically saying he can’t be fired by DOJ/Barr because he was appointed by the SDNY judges, not by the president.
Per the below, Berman is able to stay put until the Senate confirms a replacement. https://t.co/vLj2wekuNL
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) June 20, 2020
Friday Night Massacre Strikes Back! https://t.co/eog33lXPBK
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) June 20, 2020
The U.S. would not be viewed as a full democracy by a pre-Trump U.S. government. People like Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio know this and they debase themselves every single day to enable it. https://t.co/Jz5A5wVWZM
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) June 20, 2020
The rule of law is at the precipice. https://t.co/NwLEdIB3OF
— Deepak Gupta (@deepakguptalaw) June 20, 2020
The US attorney suggests the Barr move to get rid of him was designed to impede ongoing SDNY investigations. https://t.co/2FEUPN7ZOI
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) June 20, 2020
Ohhh, this should be gooood. https://t.co/ClzL6ynQ26
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 20, 2020
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) June 20, 2020
Is this the first time we’ve seen a rebellion like this in the Justice Department? https://t.co/gXBavooU3W
— Adam Serwer? (@AdamSerwer) June 20, 2020
This feels unprecedented, both in the assault on the rule of law and the pushback against that assault https://t.co/xu5t6Oku22
— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) June 20, 2020
This is astounding…by bringing up that he was appointed by Judges is he saying that he doesn’t serve at the pleasure of the president and thus can’t be fired? https://t.co/zqWeMUZYhO
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) June 20, 2020
Shorter Berman to the AG Barr: You called down the thunder, well now you’ve got it. https://t.co/pobWx3y9fS
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) June 20, 2020
Barr is a criminal thug. Mob boss lawyer dressed up in a fancy suit. https://t.co/XJsfxmpnTw
— Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) June 20, 2020
SDNY should go on camera before some Trump goon takes him out.
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) June 20, 2020
The wheels are off the wagon https://t.co/Rw6RcvUXz1
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) June 20, 2020
