President Donald Trump's troubles with his own justice never end. On Friday, June 19, the Department of Justice announced the resignation of New York’s southern district attorney Geoffrey Berman, who oversees the main prosecutions of allies of President Donald Trump. Information denied a few hours later by the main interested party, who said in a press release that he " did not intend to resign from (his) post ». And to continue: "I will resign when a candidate nominated by the president is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will continue without interruption. " Under federal law, a US prosecutor appointed by judges of a district court, such as Berman, can exercise his powers "Until the vacant position is filled" by a candidate approved by the Senate.
The Justice Department did not give an explanation for the alleged resignation of Berman in its succinct statement, but announced that Trump was appointing Jay Clayton, the current head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) , in its place. This business lawyer has virtually no experience as a federal prosecutor.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voiced concern, saying "This resignation announced late Friday evening reeks of potential corruption in the legal process". "What makes President Trump angry? A previous action by this prosecutor or an action in progress? ", did he wonder.
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Close to the president
Geoffrey Berman, a prosecutor since 2018 in the powerful southern district of New York, notably supervised the indictment of Michael Cohen, the ex-lawyer of Mr. Trump sentenced to three years in prison in December 2018 for lying to Congress, defrauded his taxes and bought the silence of two alleged former mistresses of Mr. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, in violation of electoral laws.
Berman also investigated the efforts of Rudy Giuliani, the president's current personal lawyer, and two of his associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, to discredit Joe Biden, who has become Trump's democratic opponent. for the presidential election in November. They were notably accused in October of violations of the financing of federal electoral campaigns, in particular for having hidden the origin of a donation of $ 325,000 to a group supporting the re-election of Trump.
Favors to Erdogan
The decision to oust Berman also comes days after the publication of excerpts from a confession book by former Trump national security adviser John Bolton that the President had tried to interfere in an investigation. by Berman concerning the Turkish public bank Halkbank, accused of having circumvented the American embargo against Iran.
Pressures allegedly aimed at obtaining in return for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the release of an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey, said the former adviser. Six weeks after the pastor's release, Bolton says that when he called the Turkish president, "Trump then told Erdogan that he would take care of everything, explaining that prosecutors in the southern district were not his people, but Obama's, a problem that would be resolved when they were replaced by his people". The White House is seeking to block the public distribution of Bolton’s book, saying it is published without formal permission certifying that the manuscript is free of classified information.
Previous dismissals
The Trump administration has sacked several officials responsible for overseeing government action. US Diplomacy Inspector General Steve Linick, sacked in mid-May by Trump, said the State Department knew it was investigating two potentially embarrassing files for Minister Mike Pompeo at the time. someone close to the president.
"Why does a president get rid of the prosecutor he chose in the southern district of New York on a Friday evening, less than five months before the election (presidential) ? " questioned Friday on Twitter Preet Bharara, Mr. Berman's predecessor, who was himself sacked in March 2017 after refusing to resign, as asked by Donald Trump.
