#Ex-US Attorney Berman refused to criticize de Blasio over protests: report

Former Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman refused to sign a letter criticizing the city’s handling of recent protests, one day before Attorney General William Barr announced plans to replace him, according to a report Monday.

The Justice Department last week drafted a letter that would have accused Mayor Bill de Blasio of hypocrisy for enforcing coronavirus social-distancing rules to block religious gatherings but not the massive demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The letter was supposed to be signed by Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, who runs the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, and then-Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, people familiar with the plan told the Journal.

But Berman on Thursday refused to sign the letter — which he called a political stunt that would strain relations between his office and the city — and it was never sent, the Journal said.

Late on Friday, Barr announced that Berman was stepping down pending the nomination of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton to replace him, and that New Jersey US Attorney Craig Carpenito would temporarily take over on July 3.

Berman initially said he had “no intention of resigning” until a “presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate,” but reversed course on Saturday after Barr said Berman’s deputy, Audrey Strauss, would be put in charge instead of Carpenito.

Barr didn’t have any direct discussions with Berman over the letter that would have criticized de Blasio and it’s unclear what role, if any, Berman’s refusal to sign it played in his ouster, the Journal said.

But Berman’s actions upset Barr, who considered him obstinate and difficult to work with, two sources familiar with the matter told the Journal.

Barr is a devout Catholic and under his leadership the Justice Department has backed several religious groups that have challenged local coronavirus restrictions over their right to worship, the Journal said.

The Manhattan US Attorney’s Office prosecuted President Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen — a case from which Berman recused himself— and is reportedly investigating another Trump lawyer, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Giuliani said Sunday that he’s unaware of any investigation, calling it “a malicious story put out by an unnamed source.”

Spokespeople for the Justice Department and the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office declined to comment, and de Blasio’s office didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry, the Journal said.