Legal experts had pointed to a 1979 Justice Department opinion to suggest that the ultimate result of any courtroom confrontation was likely to be that Mr. Trump — though not Mr. Barr — did have the authority to fire Mr. Berman.
President Donald Trump recently compelled 46 U.S. attorneys to resign, and to do so within a matter of hours. When one, Preet Bharaha, refused, Trump summarily fired him. Was the president within his rights to remove these public servants? In a word, yes. But being within one's rights and doing what is right are two very different things.
Those instances when presidents have exercised the authority to fire U.S. attorneys fall on a broad spectrum, from the right and appropriate to the unjust and perhaps unlawful. On those rare occasions when there has been just cause to fire U.S. attorneys, it has been easy to identify.
But prosecutors were trying to make a broader case against Trump himself, on a different matter: his company’s real estate valuation practices.
As Secretary of State, Vance approached foreign policy with an emphasis on negotiation over conflict and a special interest in arms reduction. In April 1980, he resigned in protest of Operation Eagle Claw, the secret mission to rescue American hostages in Iran. He was succeeded by Edmund Muskie.
In the past year, the Manhattan and Brooklyn district attorneys, who have about 500 prosecutors each, lost almost a fifth of that work force, a sharp increase from attrition averages before 2020.
Alvin BraggThe current district attorney is Alvin Bragg. He was elected in 2021 to succeed Cyrus Vance Jr. District attorneys are legally permitted to delegate the prosecution of petty crimes or offenses.
Alvin Leonard Bragg Jr. (born October 21, 1973) is an American politician and laywer from the state of New York who is serving as the New York County District Attorney. In 2021, he became the first African-American and first person of color elected to that office.
In practice, district attorneys, who prosecute the bulk of criminal cases in the United States, answer to no one. The state attorney general is the highest law enforcement officer in state government and often has the power to review complaints about unethical and illegal conduct on the part of district attorneys.
Alvin BraggMeet Alvin Bragg Alvin Bragg was overwhelmingly elected Manhattan District Attorney, becoming only the fourth person elected to this office in 80 years.
Attorney Alvin BraggManhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Friday sought to clarify some of his prosecutorial policies that fueled criticism he is soft on crime.
District attorneys are either elected by the local constituents they represent or appointed by the chief executive of the jurisdiction. Except for the District of Columbia and three states—Connecticut, New Jersey, and Alaska—other 47 states across the country elect their District Attorneys.
Attorney Eric GonzalezBrooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that Brooklyn made gains in public safety during 2021, as homicides and shootings declined compared to 2020. Those categories inched up in other boroughs and citywide.
HarlemAlvin is a member of the Board of Directors of The Legal Aid Society, a former member of the Board of Directors of the New York Urban League, and a Sunday School teacher at the Abyssinian Baptist Church. He lives in Harlem with his wife Jamila and two children.
Contact Office by Mail: Office of the Attorney General. The Capitol. Albany, NY 12224-0341.Press Office Email: [email protected] Helpline: 1-800-771-7755.TDD/TTY Toll Free Line: 1-800-788-9898.Healthcare Hotline: 1-800-428-9071.Medicaid Fraud Control Unit: 212-417-5397.
Bush: The big controversy during the Bush Administration was the firing of a handful of U.S. Attorneys during his second term. However, in 2001, the Bush Administration “ eased U.S. attorneys out gradually while officials sought replacements .”.
U.S. attorneys are responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the areas that they oversee and report to Department of Justice. For almost 100 years, when there was a vacancy, the district court appointed an interim U.S. attorney. The president would then appoint a replacement, who would be confirmed by the Senate.
One of those led to the resignation of Bush Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in 2007, while Bharara was chief counsel for Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY).
Trump: Although slightly more than half of the U.S. attorneys had already resigned before March 10, the Trump Administration has nominated no new U.S. attorneys for Senate confirmation, according to the Washington Post.
Barr invoked the president. Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, arrived at his office in New York on Saturday hours after defying the attorney general’s attempt to fire him.
The 1979 opinion pointed to one district court opinion from 1963 — also in Manhattan — which expressed the view that a president may remove a court-appointed prosecutor. In his letter, Mr. Barr also pointed to a 2000 opinion by the federal appeals court in Boston that took the same position in passing, saying that a “president may override ...
attorney in Brooklyn, said Mr. Berman had “called the attorney general’s bluff” because only the president, not Mr. Barr, had the power to remove him.
Harmon also pointed to constitutional arguments to back his conclusion: U.S. attorneys exercise executive power, making the president responsible for the conduct of their offices, so the president “must have the power to remove one he believes is an unsuitable incumbent, regardless of who appointed him,” he wrote.
Barr could not fire him because he had been appointed by the court, and declared he intended to remain in office until the Senate confirms a successor. However, another federal law says that U.S. attorneys may be removed by the president. On its face, it makes no exception ...
attorneys following Senate confirmation, a law permits an attorney general to appoint a prosecutor to fill those vacancies for 120 days. If that temporary appointment expires, judges can fill it. A prosecutor appointed by the court will “serve until the vacancy is filled,” the statute says.
That is how Mr. Berman became U.S. attorney. He was initially appointed by the attorney general at the time, Jeff Sessions , and federal judges in Manhattan reappointed him after the 120-day period expired. In his statement Friday night, Mr. Berman indicated that Mr. Barr could not fire him because he had been appointed by the court, ...
At the other end of that spectrum, consider a former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias. In 2005, a Republican senator from that state, Pete Domenici, wanted Iglesias to initiate prosecutions against certain Democrats. When Iglesias declined because the cases lacked merit, Domenici voiced his unhappiness with the decision. What followed had long-lasting impact at the Department of Justice: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired Iglesias and a number of other U.S. attorneys, I among them, for what many found to be politically motivated reasons.
It was harmed because we as citizens must trust that when U.S. attorneys issue subpoenas or seek the death penalty, they do so without regard to partisan belief. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson served as one of FDR's attorneys general, and was the lead prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials after World War II.
That makes the U.S. attorney more than a mere gatekeeper. By issuing a grand jury subpoena, a U.S. attorney may destroy a hard-won reputation. In some instances, a U.S. attorney may use the power of the government to intentionally and methodically take another person's life.
This broad authority makes the selection of a U.S. attorney an important process that must be done with much care. Appointment to the position requires full Senate confirmation. Background checks are done not by government contractors but by special agents of the FBI, and they are most thorough: Given the threat of terrorism, and that terrorism cases arise throughout the country, each U.S. attorney must qualify to receive the highest of security clearances.
This law prohibits anyone who "incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto." In the first place, this law has almost never been invoked. The leading precedent on the statute comes from a case from 1863!
This law bans "attempts to deprive or defraud residents of a State of a fair and impartially conducted election process, by . [the] tabulation of ballots known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent." Under this theory, by instructing his attorney general to say there was fraud in Georgia, Trump committed this crime.
This law makes it a crime to corruptly obstruct, influence or impede any official proceeding or attempt to do so. Once more, the issue would be intent -- here reflected in the word "corruptly." In his January 6 speech, Trump encouraged the crowd to march to Capitol Hill but he did not explicitly encourage violence.
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity. The president himself is explicitly exempt from the strictures of the Hatch Act, but could be charged with the provision that makes it "unlawful for any person to intimidate, threaten, command, or coerce" a federal employee to "engage in ...
This broad provision, much loved by prosecutors, makes it a crime to "conspire to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States." The first part of this law runs into the same problem as the specific statutes noted above -- that it's difficult to prove an underlying crime.