[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 114 (Monday, June 22, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S3115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman

  Mr. President, on another matter--there are so many matters and so 
much trouble this administration is in that it is hard to count, and 
you would probably need several hours to document and talk about them 
all--last Friday night, Attorney General Barr claimed that Geoffrey 
Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was 
``stepping down.'' A short time later, Mr. Berman revealed that the 
Attorney General was lying and that he was not, in fact, stepping down. 
Over the past 2 days, this sordid, ham-handed plot by President Trump 
and Attorney General Barr to oust a well-respected U.S. attorney played 
out in public view.
  But for Mr. Berman's principled stand, the White House and the DOJ 
would have subverted the chain of succession in the Southern District 
of New York to install a pliant U.S. attorney from New Jersey in Mr. 
Berman's place. Thankfully, due to Mr. Berman's courage, that plan was 
thwarted, and Mr. Berman's deputy will take over the leadership of the 
Southern District and continue its important work. She has a fine 
reputation as a prosecutor and someone of integrity. People of 
integrity don't seem to be welcome in this administration.
  Then the DOJ announced that the President intended to nominate the 
sitting SEC Chairman, Jay Clayton, to replace Mr. Berman. As the 
Senator from New York, I will not return a blue slip on Mr. Clayton's 
nomination. Regardless, Jay Clayton should withdraw his name from 
consideration and refuse to be an accomplice to this scheme.
  There appears to be no legitimate motive to fire Mr. Berman, which 
leaves the obvious question: Were President Trump and the Attorney 
General trying to remove him for a corrupt motive? Was it because Mr. 
Berman, in the Southern District of New York, was pursuing criminal 
investigations into President Trump and his associates? The President 
certainly has a pattern of firing government watchdogs who are 
investigating his misconduct or that of his associates.
  We need an immediate, top-to-bottom investigation into what 
transpired with the plot to dismiss Mr. Berman. So I have demanded that 
the Office of Professional Responsibility at the Department of Justice 
work with the Justice Department's inspector general to determine 
whether there were corrupt motives for Mr. Berman's dismissal and, if 
so, discipline the officials involved no matter who they are or how 
high up they go. These two offices jointly investigated the firing of 
U.S. attorneys in 2006 during the Bush administration and should do so 
again.
  The Committee on the Judiciary here in the Senate, led by Chairman 
Graham, must also investigate what happened here, using its subpoena 
power, if necessary. Senator Graham seems to be investigating President 
Obama and Vice President Biden with 53 subpoenas. He certainly must 
have time to investigate a serious problem that has come before us 
right now. After all, the abject refusal of Senate Republicans to hold 
President Trump accountable for his assault on the rule of law in the 
country is what has gotten us here in the first place.
  The Senate Republicans refused to stand up to the President when he 
fired the FBI Director for investigating his campaign. They refused to 
stand up to the President when he made a national emergency in order to 
steal funds for the border wall. They refused to stand up to the 
President when he dismissed not one or two or three but four inspectors 
general. They also refused to stand up to the President when he tried 
to bully a foreign power into helping him in his reelection.
  Every time the President breaks a window, the Senate Republican 
majority dutifully sweeps up the glass. Every blue moon or so, a 
Republican Senator will issue a mild rebuke of the President's behavior 
or will pen a strongly worded letter, but the response is never 
commensurate with the offense. As a result, President Trump knows there 
is no line he can't cross. He and his Attorney General can fire a 
sitting U.S. attorney without cause, perhaps for investigating criminal 
wrongdoing by the President or his associates, and the Senate 
Republicans would hardly bat an eye. Will Senate Republican Senators 
ever say, ``Enough''