Trump AG Barr will escape impeachment thanks to 'corrupt' Republicans – Nadler
Photo: Doug Mills / EPA
Attorney General William Barr "deserves" to be charged and removed, but will evade fate because Republicans who control the Senate are "corrupt against the country's interests," said the House Justice Committee chairman on Sunday.
Related: Geoffrey Berman, U.S. attorney behind Trump ally investigation, resigns after Barr announces the release
Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat, told CNN's State of the Union that he would instead take $ 50 million from the Attorney General's "personal budget."
On Saturday evening, after an almost 24-hour break, Barr secured the exit of Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York.
The prestigious district has launched investigations and prosecutions against Donald Trump's allies, including two of his personal lawyers, Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani.
It also oversees investigations into the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a Trump friend, and a case with a Turkish bank that former national security advisor John Bolton said Trump wanted to influence as a favor for the Turkish president.
Barr said Friday night that Berman, a Republican who donated to Trump in 2016, agreed to step down. Berman said he didn't have.
On Saturday, Barr cited Trump's authority to fire Berman, who accepted his fate. His deputy Audrey Strauss, a prosecutor and donor to the Democrats, will take on the role until the Senate confirms a replacement.
Barr and Trump want this replacement to be Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has never worked as a prosecutor. Barr had said the U.S. lawyer in New Jersey, an ally of Trump, would take on the role of an actor.
At NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, House Intelligence chief Adam Schiff was asked if he would accept the reported statement that Trump's move to replace Berman with Clayton was "simply the president who wanted to do a golf buddy a favor ".
"I cannot accept this statement," said Schiff, "given the President's pattern and practice of using the judicial system to reward friends, punish enemies, protect people he likes, and Bill Barr's willingness to do so To carry water. " for the president.
"Even if you look at Berman's testimony, Berman seems to have the same skepticism. There is a reason ... he said" I won't resign "that he wanted to make sure that the investigation continued ... Berman clearly had concerns why he was driven out. "
Clayton, Sullivan & Cromwell's firm represented Deutsche Bank, one of Trump's largest creditors, who is itself being investigated by the DoJ. Republican Senator Tim Scott told ABC's This Week on Sunday: "There is no evidence that this investigation will be terminated."
Democrats have long argued that Barr is more a personal lawyer for Trump than the impartial head of federal law enforcement. The Attorney General misrepresented the Mueller report and intervened in criminal matters with Trump's helpers Michael Flynn and Roger Stone.
Schiff also referred to the recent moves by a number of government independent watchdogs.
"Given the layoffs of these inspectors-general," he said, "given the way Barr tried to intervene in cases to help people like Michael Flynn or Roger Stone and to demand additional punishment for people like Michael Cohen" - who has turned against the president - "... you really have to ask yourself what is really the basis of this massacre on Friday night and now you have completed one."
This was a reference to the so-called Saturday Night Massacre of 1973, when Richard Nixon attempted to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox and dismissed successive officers instead of doing so. Nixon soon resigned instead of being removed.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren led Barr's impeachment, but Nadler said, “He certainly deserved impeachment, but that would be a waste of time.
"We know that we have a corrupt Republican majority in the Senate that is not considering impeachment regardless of the evidence and facts," said Nadler, saying that such senators are "corrupt against the country's interests."
Actions against Barr would include the budget cut, he said.
When Trump was charged with attempting to spot Ukraine's political rivals, he was acquitted in the Senate, who refused to call witnesses, including Bolton, who is now publishing a book that alleges more unassailable behavior.
A Republican senator, Mitt Romney, voted for new witnesses and against Trump. Maine's Susan Collins voted for Witnesses.
Nadler, like other Democrats, has suggested that Barr be trying to hinder an investigation near Trump. When asked what, he said, "I think it is obvious that a number of investigations were being carried out in the southern district in relation to the President's staff, Giuliani, the Turkish investigation. We saw a pattern from Barr, that corrupted all of this investigation. " So that's more the same. "
Nadler said he expects Berman to testify if not at a hearing this week that DoJ whistleblowers will be present.
Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the SDNY before Berman, which Trump had also fired, told CNN that he's now working for that he doesn't think Berman would discuss ongoing investigations. He also condemned Barr's behavior.
"The United States Attorney General has publicly misrepresented whether Geoff Berman has resigned or not," he said.
"It was clearly not the case, it was clearly a lie, and he tried to cover it up with a letter that spent time calling names against Geoff Berman, and also pulled back a little so that Berman could decide that the office would be in good hands. "
Barr accused Berman of "preferring the public spectacle to the public service".
"Your statement also incorrectly implies that your continued term in the office is necessary to ensure that cases now pending in the southern district of New York are handled appropriately," said the Attorney General. "This is obviously wrong. I assume that the office will continue to process all cases in the normal way. "
Bharara said he thought Barr's behavior "shows that there is an inability to serve."
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