House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) stated Wednesday that his committee “may very well” move to impeach Attorney General William Barr after he advised for Geoff Berman, the US. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be removed from his post.
“We’re looking into that, we may very well,” Nadler told reporters when asked about a possible impeachment inquiry into Barr. “I think the weight of the evidence and of what’s happened leads to that conclusion.”
On Friday, the Department of Justice announced that Berman was resigning as Manhattan’s top prosecutor. Shortly thereafter, Berman issued a statement saying he had no intention of leaving his post.
However, Berman still showed up to work on Saturday, telling reporters: “I’m just here to do my job.”
Hours later, Barr wrote a letter to Berman revealing that President Donald Trump had fired him at his request.
“Unfortunately, with your statement of last night, you have chosen public spectacle over public service,” Barr told Berman.
“Your statement also wrongly implies that your continued tenure in the office is necessary to ensure that cases now pending in the Southern District of New York are handled appropriately,” added the attorney general. “This is obviously false.”
Shortly after Berman’s removal, Nadler announced that his panel would investigate Berman’s firing:
The House Judiciary Committee will immediately open an investigation into this incident, as part of our broader investigation into Barr’s unacceptable politicization of the Department of Justice. On Wednesday, the Committee will hear from two whistleblowers who will explain why Barr’s attempt to fire Mr. Berman is part of a larger, ongoing, and wholly unacceptable pattern of conduct. If the President removes Mr. Berman, then we will take additional steps to secure his testimony as well.
On Wednesday, Barr agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on July 28th as part of the committee’s probe into what panel Democrat claim is an “unprecedented politicization” of the Department of Justice.
DOJ spokeswomen Kerri Kupec confirmed: “The Attorney General has accepted an invitation to appear before the House Judiciary Committee for a general oversight hearing on July 28th.”
The Attorney General has accepted an invitation to appear before the House Judiciary Committee for a general oversight hearing on July 28th.
— Kerri Kupec DOJ (@KerriKupecDOJ) June 24, 2020
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