In his opening statement to the House Judiciary Committee, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman detailed how Attorney General William Barr tried to force him to resign his office, even resorting to bribing him by offering him various positions in the Administration.

Barr and Berman met in a Manhattan hotel room in June of this year.  Berman did not know the topic of the meeting when he arrived, he said.

Appointed to the office by the Chief Judge of SDNY in October 2018 after the Trump Administration failed to appoint a nominee, Berman repeatedly told Barr his intention to stay in the position.  According to Berman’s appointment, he could only be replaced upon the Senate confirmation of a nominee.

Barr, according to Berman, offered Berman a position in the Department of Justice DC office, overseeing the Civil Division.  This would require Berman to resign, allowing the Administration to nominate SEC Chairman Jay Clayton.

Berman noted that Clayton was a poor choice to be a US Attorney, particularly in SDNY, because Clayton had no prosecutorial experience.

Barr then obliquely threatened Berman, noting that if Berman was fired, it would look bad on his resume.  Berman repeatedly told Barr he had no intention to resign.

“The Attorney General said that he was trying to think of other jobs in the Administration that might be of interest to me,” Berman testified.  “I said that there was no job offer that would entice me to resign from my position.”

After one further telephone conversation, Berman said he learned the DoJ released a statement that Berman was “stepping down” and “that the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Craig Carpenito, had been appointed by the president as Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York effective July 3rd.”

Berman released his own statement, confirming that he was not stepping down.  He then received a letter from Barr stating that the President had fired him.

Trump had denied playing any role in firing Berman.  Barr has said it was the President’s decision.