My insomnia has gotten to be a serious problem at this point. I know a big part of the problem is that I have a torn left rotator cuff that makes it painful to lie on one side or to move about, but whatever the reasons, my lack of sleep is affecting my productivity. Ordinarily, I would already have written a lengthy piece about the whole thing in the Southern District of Manhattan, but it’s 4:30pm and I still don’t have the concentration or energy to give you my take.
It’s not a simple story to tell or analyze, mainly because it’s both unprecedented and monumental in its reach and implications. I’m going to celebrate my mother-in-laws birthday and get ready for a Father’s Day celebration tomorrow, and I’ll also be keeping up on the MAGA rally in Tulsa.
While I do these things, however, my mind will be working in the background to figure out how to tell the story of Trump’s decision to fire Geoffrey S. Berman and Berman’s refusal to leave his post. It’s one of the biggest constitutional clashes I’ve ever seen, and there are reasons that it’s happening now.
I would be shocked if it didn’t have something to do with SCOTUS forcing Deutsche Bank to turn over his records to the USDA. He knows it’s coming and he’s furious and firing Berman is literally all he knows how to do. (Not anticipating that Berman’s replacement is not going to be doing him any favors.)
Uh oh …
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/06/geoffrey-berman-reverses-course-now-says-he-will-leave-sdny-effective-immediately/
I’m looking forward to this.
Rest up Martin. We need you and your insights and thoughts back for the battle ahead. The corruption and lawlessness is demoralizing to us all. Fire anyone you like for whatever you want is now the new normal, especially when they get close. Rudy is smiling today.
I hope you get some much needed rest and that you heal as quickly as is humanly possible.
The long and the short of it seems to be that Barr botched this badly. Announcing a surprise resignation by Berman led to pushback by Berman, who said he had not resigned and had no intention to do so. That forced Barr’s hand and he had to claim that Trump agreed to firing Berman and so Berman was now fired. Problem? Trump blew that up by denying doing so. Not sure what happened behind the scenes afterwards, but the outcome ends up Berman ending the standoff by resigning with Berman’s second in command, Audrey Strauss taking over as US Attorney for SDNY. My understanding is that she’s well-respected. Odds of getting a Trump appointee installed before the election is going to be difficult at best. Any inconvenient investigations and potential prosecutions the SDNY is undertaking will likely continue for the foreseeable future. Barr may be evil, but he’s not exactly a genius.