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#Chuck Schumer calls for Jay Clayton to drop bid for Berman’s US Attorney post

#Chuck Schumer calls for Jay Clayton to drop bid for Berman’s US Attorney post

June 20, 2020 | 4:02pm

Democrats are beating the “obstruction” war drums over Attorney General William Barr’s as yet unsuccessful attempt to oust Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling on Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to remove himself from consideration as the next United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, vowed a Congressional probe into whether Barr engaged in “a new effort to obstruct pending investigations” into President Trump and his allies.

And early Saturday, New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the House Judiciary committee, tweeted that he will invite Berman to testify at an obstruction hearing planned for Wednesday.

Meanwhile, one White House source insisted that the attempt to remove Berman was simply a personnel matter.

Clayton, who is highly regarded in Washington and on Wall Street, “wanted to be back in New York full time,” the source told The Post.

“The impetus here was Clayton needed a spot on New York and that was the only spot available in New York,” the source said. “We didn’t want to lose Clayton, and Berman is no one to us.”

According to multiple reports, Barr had offered to ease Berman out peacefully, by offering him a top Justice job in Washington — and Berman declined, only to be blindsided when Barr immediately tried to pull the rug out from under him.

The source hinted that now, Trump plans to step in and do what Barr failed to do.

“He serves at the pleasure of the president, and it’s no longer his pleasure that he serve,” the source said.

“So he has to go. He is a political appointee. No one else has a say in this besides the president. He can fire him if he doesn’t like the look on his face.”

Jay Clayton can allow himself to be used in the brazen Trump-Barr scheme to interfere in investigations by the U.S. Attorney for SDNY, or he can stand up to this corruption, withdraw his name from consideration, and save his own reputation from overnight ruin. pic.twitter.com/6h5D9jOaj7

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 20, 2020

On Twitter Saturday, Schumer blasted Barr’s plan to move Clayton to the SDNY helm.

“Jay Clayton can allow himself to be used in the brazen Trump-Barr scheme to interfere in investigations by the U.S. Attorney for SDNY, or he can stand up to this corruption, withdraw his name from consideration, and save his own reputation from overnight ruin,” Schumer said in a tweet Saturday.

He also called for the Department of Justice Inspector General to launch an internal investigation into why the administration sought the dismissal of the current U.S. attorney on the job, Geoffrey Berman.

The senator said Friday that the President’s move to oust Berman from the job “reeks of potential corruption of the legal process.”

Berman’s office prosecuted former Trump fixer Michael Cohen and had been investigating his current attorney and confidant Rudy Giuliani. There are also reportedly probes into loans from Deutsche Bank to the Trump Organization and financing of the president’ 2017 inaugural.

Given Senator Schumer’s call for Jay Clayton to withdraw from SDNY consideration, this announcement by Senator Graham means Clayton’s nomination is dead on arrival https://t.co/7fCnZF7gsw

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) June 20, 2020

Clayton, an ally of the administration, has never previously served as a prosecutor. Berman so far has vowed to stay on in the post as long as he can.

The Schumer denunciation bodes ill for Clayton’s ultimate appointment.

On Saturday Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said he would follow the unofficial “blue slip policy” for U.S. attorneys’ allowing Schumer and the state’s junior Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to weigh in on the appointment.

“As to processing U.S. Attorney nominations, it has always been the policy of the Judiciary Committee to receive blue slips from the home state senators before proceeding to the nomination. As chairman, I have honored that policy and will continue to do so,” Graham said.

Berman’s predecessor on the job (who was also fired by President Trump) said the Graham decision would likely make Clayton “dead on arrival.”

Source

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