why did the attorney general get fired

Why were attorneys fired from the Department of Justice?

Critics said that the attorneys were fired for failing to prosecute Democratic politicians, for failing to prosecute claims of election fraud that would hamper Democratic voter registration, as retribution for prosecuting Republican politicians, or for failing to pursue adult obscenity prosecutions.

Who is the Attorney General who fired Geoffrey Berman?

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr said Saturday that at his request, President Donald Trump had fired Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan.

Is it weird to ask an attorney general to leave office?

In reply, Kyle Sampson, then Department of Justice counsel to Attorney General John Ashcroft, wrote that it would be "weird to ask them to leave before completing at least a 4-year term", that they "would like to replace 15–20 percent of the current U.S. Attorneys" and that the rest "are doing a great job, are loyal Bushies, etc."

Did Trump consider firing Attorney General William Barr?

Despite Trump's upbeat message, he had been seriously considering firing his attorney general as recently as Sunday, people familiar with the matter said, though officials did not believe he would go through with dismissing Barr immediately.

Can the President remove the attorney general?

The President of the United States has the authority to appoint U.S. Attorneys, with the consent of the United States Senate, and the President may remove U.S. Attorneys from office. In the event of a vacancy, the United States Attorney General is authorized to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney.

Who was attorney general when Donald Trump took office?

Previous officeholdersOfficeNameTook officeAttorney GeneralWilliam BarrFebruary 14, 2019Sally YatesJanuary 20, 2017Deputy Attorney GeneralJanuary 10, 2015General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of InvestigationDana BoenteJanuary 23, 201835 more rows

How do you remove the attorney General of the United States?

Technically, no sitting President has ever fired an Attorney General they nominated to office with Senate approval. But President Trump clearly has the power to remove Sessions, based on the Constitution and past legal decisions. And most importantly, he can ask for his resignation.

Who was Obama's Attorney General?

Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African American to hold the position of U.S. attorney general.

Is William Barr still Attorney General?

William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump. New York City, U.S. From 1971 to 1977, Barr was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Can the President remove a Supreme Court justice?

The Constitution states that Justices "shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour." This means that the Justices hold office as long as they choose and can only be removed from office by impeachment.

Who can fire Manhattan attorney?

A proceeding to suspend or remove a district attorney is commenced by filing with the clerk of superior court of the county where the district attorney resides a sworn affidavit charging the district attorney with one or more grounds for removal.

Who can the president not remove from office?

Congress, the Court ruled, could legally restrict the president's ability to remove anyone except "purely executive officers." Two decades later, after President Dwight Eisenhower dismissed Myron Wiener from the War Claims Commission, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the legal limits to the president's removal powers.

Who said it is impossible to read Attorney General Sessions firing as anything other than another blatant attempt by President Trump to?

House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said: "It is impossible to read Attorney General Sessions' firing as anything other than another blatant attempt by President Trump to undermine & end Special Counsel Mueller's investigation."

Who was the Alabama senator who resigned?

In a resignation letter, Mr Sessions - a former Alabama senator who was an early supporter of Mr Trump - made clear the decision to go was not his own.

Why did Donald Trump criticize his top law official?

Mr Trump had criticised his top law official for months, mainly over his refusal to oversee the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in favour of Mr Trump's election in 2016.

Who appointed Mueller to lead the Russia investigation?

It was the deputy attorney general who appointed Mr Mueller to lead the Russia inquiry, after Mr Trump fired FBI director James Comey in May 2017.

Who was the Senate leader who said protecting the Mueller investigation was "paramount" in light of the move?

Democrats were outraged by the attorney general's removal, with Senate leader Mr Schumer said protecting the Mueller investigation was "paramount" in light of the move.

Who must be held accountable for Mueller?

Anyone who attempts to interfere with or obstruct the Mueller inquiry must be held accountable. This is a red line. We are a nation of laws and norms not subject to the self interested actions of one man.

Can the president fire Mueller?

The president cannot directly fire the special counsel, whose investigation Mr Trump has repeatedly decried as a witch hunt. But Mr Sessions's replacement will have the power to fire Mr Mueller or end the inquiry.

Why did Trump say Barr should be fired?

On Saturday, Trump retweeted a post that said Barr “should be fired by the end of business today” if the attorney general had worked to keep a criminal investigation of Hunter Biden secret during the election, as The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Who was the lawyer that pushed back on Barr's remarks?

Giuliani and another Trump campaign lawyer, Jenna Ellis, had pushed back on Barr’s remarks after they were made public.

What is the end of Barr's tenure?

The end of Barr’s tenure is the final step in the deterioration of Trump’s relationship with his attorney general, an alliance that was once considered to be among the strongest Trump had with any member of his Cabinet.

When will Barr leave office?

Attorney General William Barr, the head of the Department of Justice, will leave office before Christmas, President Donald Trump said Monday. The widely anticipated announcement of Barr’s departure came just moments after President-elect Joe Biden ’s victory over Trump was formalized by the Electoral College.

When is Barr's appointment?

William Barr takes a seat after a break in his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be attorney general of the United States on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2019. Yuri Gripas | Reuters.

Who is leaving the Trump administration?

Attorney General William Barr, the head of the Department of Justice, will depart the Trump administration before Christmas, President Donald Trump said. The widely anticipated announcement of Barr’s departure came just moments after President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump was formalized by the Electoral College.

Did Barr conceal Hunter Biden's business dealings?

The Wall Street Journal reported that Barr had worked to conceal the probes involving Hunter Biden’s business dealings and finances during the election season, despite pressure from Trump and Republicans seeking information on the Democratic nominee’s son.

Why were the seven attorneys fired?

Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 6. He said that the seven were fired for job performance issues and not political considerations; these statements lead several of the dismissed attorneys, who had been previously silent, to come forward with questions about their dismissals, partially because their performance reviews prior to their dismissal had been highly favorable.

Why are emails about the firing of attorneys lost?

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel stated that some of the emails that had involved official correspondence relating to the firing of attorneys may have been lost because they were conducted on Republican party accounts and not stored properly. "Some official e-mails have potentially been lost and that is a mistake the White House is aggressively working to correct." said Stanzel, a White House spokesman. Stonzel said that they could not rule out the possibility that some of the lost emails dealt with the firing of U.S. attorneys. For example, J. Scott Jennings, an aide to Karl Rove communicated with Justice Department officials "concerning the appointment of Tim Griffin, a former Rove aide, as U.S. attorney in Little Rock, according to e-mails released in March, 2007. For that exchange, Jennings, although working at the White House, used an e-mail account registered to the Republican National Committee, where Griffin had worked as a political opposition researcher."

What did Gonzales say about the dismissal of the attorneys?

He also stood by his decision to dismiss the attorneys, saying "I stand by the decision and I think it was the right decision". Gonzales admitted that "incomplete information was communicated or may have been communicated to Congress" by Justice Department officials, and said that "I never saw documents. We never had a discussion about where things stood."

What was the process used to fire the first seven attorneys and two others dismissed around the same time?

A subsequent report by the Justice Department Inspector General in October 2008 found that the process used to fire the first seven attorneys and two others dismissed around the same time was "arbitrary", "fundamentally flawed" and "raised doubts about the integrity of Department prosecution decisions".

Why were some of the attorneys targeted for dismissal?

Allegations were that some of the attorneys were targeted for dismissal to impede investigations of Republican politicians or that some were targeted for their failure to initiate investigations that would damage Democratic politicians or hamper Democratic-leaning voters.

How long can an interim attorney serve?

Attorneys by deleting two provisions: (a) the 120-day maximum term for the Attorney General's interim appointees, and (b) the subsequent interim appointment authority of Federal District Courts. With the revision, an interim appointee can potentially serve indefinitely (though still removable by the President), if the President declines to nominate a U.S. Attorney for a vacancy, or the Senate either fails to act on a Presidential nomination, or rejects a nominee that is different than the interim appointee.

What did the change in the law do to the Attorney General?

The change in the law undermined the confirmation authority of the Senate and gave the Attorney General greater appointment powers than the President, since the President's U.S. Attorney appointees are required to be confirmed by the Senate and those of the Attorney General did not require confirmation.

Why did the President have a lengthy meeting with the Attorney General?

The President was frustrated with his attorney general's comments to the AP and had a "contentious," lengthy meeting at the White House the day they were published, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

What did Barr do to Trump?

Barr repeatedly and unapologetically prioritized Trump's political goals while furthering his own vision of expansive presidential power. In his most notorious move, Barr delivered a misleading summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, essentially clearing Trump in the Russia probe, which drew a sharp rebuke from Mueller himself. ...

What did Barr say about the lockdown?

The attorney general echoed the President's anger at coronavirus lockdowns, calling them, apart from slavery, "the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history." Barr also asked for the Justice Department to take over the President's defense in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Jean E. Carroll, who accused him of sexual assault.

What was Barr asked about?

Barr's loyalty to Trump during his tenure at the Justice Department had sometimes put him in a tough public spot, including in September, when he was asked about Antifa, a left-wing group the Justice Department has claimed stirs protests toward violence.

Did Barr resign?

(CNN) Attorney General William Barr on Monday said he would resign next week, ending a tenure in which the President Donald Trump loyalist carried the administration's "law and order" message but ultimately dealt the most credible blow to Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was littered with fraud.

Was Barr fired?

Still, a White House official said Barr was not forced out or fired.

Did Mueller object to Barr's report?

Mueller objected – first in a letter to Barr, then in a public statement and again when he testified to Congress last year. Barr’s rollout “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this Office’s work and conclusions” of the report, Mueller said.

Who was the attorney general that was fired by Trump?

Geoffrey Berman, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York fired by President Donald Trump, told House lawmakers on Thursday that Attorney General Bill Barr repeatedly asked him to resign in a private meeting before his removal, and warned that his firing could damage his reputation.

Why was Berman fired?

Berman was fired by Trump in June after a standoff with Attorney General Barr.

Why did Barr step down?

In his statement to lawmakers, Berman said that Barr was not unhappy with his performance, and only said he wanted him to step down from the post "because the Administration wanted to get Jay Clayton into that position."

Who replaced Berman in New Jersey?

On June 19, Barr announced that Berman had resigned, and would be replaced by the U.S. attorney in New Jersey in an acting capacity until the Senate confirmed Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton for the post.

Who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee?

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., told reporters that Berman "would not speculate on the Attorney General's motive" for seeking to remove him, but that he "made clear that his leaving would disrupt certain sensitive cases."

Did Berman answer questions about Barr's intentions?

Sources familiar with Berman's interview said he repeatedly declined to answer questions about the nature of his work or thoughts on Barr's intentions, and hewed closely to his prepared statement.

Who is the attorney who stepped down after Trump fired him?

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman agrees to step down after Trump fires him, House Democrats launch probe. Berman said Saturday that he would not fight the move and will be leaving the office in the hands of his deputy, effective immediately.

Who was the deputy prosecutor who stepped down?

Shortly afterwards, Berman, who had defied Barr's earlier demand for his resignation, announced that he would not resist the order and would step down, leaving the high-profile prosecutor's office in the hands of his deputy, Audrey Strauss.

What did Barr say about Berman's departure?

Barr said in his Saturday letter that he had been "surprised and quite disappointed" by Berman's response on Friday night, saying he had "hoped that [Berman's] departure could be amicable" and had believed there was still a chance he might remain within the administration in some capacity.

Was Berman fired by Trump?

Trump himself, when asked about Berman's firing Saturday afternoon by reporters at the White House, said he was "not involved" in the situation and that the decision was "up to the attorney general."

Who is Geoffrey Berman?

Geoffrey Berman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Oct. 26, 2018. Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee?

Democrats were sharply critical of the move, with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler tweeting Friday that "America is right to expect the worst of Bill Barr, who has repeatedly interfered in criminal investigations on Trump’s behalf."

Did Barr fire Berman?

AG Barr tells Manhattan U.S. Attorney Berman that he's been fired in letter. WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr said Saturday that at his request, President Donald Trump had fired Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. Shortly afterwards, Berman, who had defied Barr's earlier demand for his resignation, ...

Overview

Reactions and congressional investigation

The initial reaction was from the senators of the affected states. In a letter to Gonzales on January 9, 2007, Senators Feinstein (D, California) and Leahy (D, Vermont; Chair of the Committee) of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed concern that the confirmation process for U.S. attorneys would be bypassed, and on January 11, they, together with Senator Pryor (D, Arkansas), introduced legislation "to prevent circumvention of the Senate's constitutional prerogative to con…

Issues in brief

Fallout

Replacement of the U.S. Attorneys

Aftermath

See also

Notes