President Trump and Attorney General William Barr have a propensity for lying.
But that doesn't mean they can keep their lies straight as demonstrated in the space of less than 24 hours with respect to Geoffrey Berman, the now former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Last night, Barr issued a statement indicating Berman had stepped down from his position and would be nominating SEC Chairman Jay Clayton as his successor. Berman issued a statement of his own indiating he had not resigned and had no intention of doing so.
Today, Barr wrote a letter to Berman indicating he was essentially correct, but that he had directed President Trump to fire him. But Trump indicated he was not involved and that Berman's fate was entirely up to Barr. Yet who knows with Trump? He might very well accuse Berman of being part of the so-called deep state by the time he hits the stage tonight in Tulsa.
Earlier this evening, Berman relented and is stepping down after all after Barr indicated that his deputy Audrey Strauss would serve as the acting U.S. Attorney.
Berman had been leading up investigations into Trump's attorney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as well as Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman for their roles in the Ukraine scandal which earned Trump impeachment by the House of Representatives. In firing Berman, Barr is obviously acting as Trump's personal attorney, not the attorney for the American people.
I cannot help but wonder if Barr is trying to goad Democrats in attempting to impeach Trump for a second time. One cannot discount this possibility because if they did then Republicans would mention Hunter Biden every chance they got with the aim of discrediting Joe Biden. After all that was their aim nearly a year ago.
Yet what with Trump's response to COVID-19, the economy in tatters, civil unrest and now holding a large rally in the middle of a pandemic, a naked attempt at removing a public official investigating Trump's associates may very well further erode his flagging popularity and wear out the President's welcome with the American people.
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