Biden campaign reacts to SDNY attorney firing: It ‘heightens extraordinary concerns’ about Barr

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign slammed the Trump administration after it dismissed the top U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. 

Biden’s deputy campaign manager and communications director, Kate Bedingfield, noted in a statement that Geoffrey Berman, who was ousted in a surprise announcement Friday night, was investigating allies of President Trump. Berman has said he will not step down and that his investigations will continue.

“Last night’s news raises yet more fundamental questions about the rule of law in the Trump Administration, and heightens extraordinary concerns about an attorney general who seems to subvert his duty to seek impartial justice in order to further the political interests of the president,” Bedingfield said. 

“The Administration must be held to account for the rash of irregular actions taken by Attorney General Barr’s Department of Justice for the president’s personal and political benefit,” she added.

The administration’s decision to dismiss Berman sparked an uproar from Democrats who said the firing was further evidence that Trump was using the Justice Department to protect himself and his allies.

“This late Friday night dismissal reeks of potential corruption of the legal process. What is angering President Trump? A previous action by this U.S. Attorney or one that is ongoing?” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Friday night, later calling on the Justice Department’s internal watchdog to investigate the ouster. 

Berman’s office has investigated several Trump associates, including Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer who was imprisoned for campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York previously subpoenaed Trump’s inaugural committee over an investigation into potential illegal contributions from foreigners, and it charged former Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), a Trump ally, with insider trading.

Berman said in a statement that he did not have prior notice before the Justice Department’s announcement that he was being dismissed and assured the public that his office’s probes would continue. 

“I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was ‘stepping down’ as United States Attorney. I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position,” Berman said in a statement. “I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption.”