#DEVELOPING: US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman refuses to step down from his position, after learning Attorney General William Barr had said he resigned in a press release.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the powerful federal prosecutor whose office sent President Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to prison and who has been investigating Mr. Trump’s current personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani.
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Berman’s office brought indictments against two associates of the president’s current lawyer, @RudyGiuliani, and began an investigation into Giuliani himself, focusing on if his efforts to dig up dirt in Ukraine on Joe Biden violated foreign lobbying laws.
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This comes just days after Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, alleged in his new book that Mr. Trump sought to interfere in an investigation by Mr. Berman’s office into a Turkish bank, in a bid to cut deals with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Berman is also investigating alleged co-conspirators involved in deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's human trafficking case.
#Developing: “Barr asked Berman to resign but he refused so Mr. Barr moved to fire him, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump had been discussing removing Berman for some time with a small group of advisers, according to a source. nytimes.com/2020/06/19/nyr…
@LindseyGrahamSC says he will wait for New York Senators @SenSchumer @SenGillibrand to send him blue slips for a new US Attorney for SDNY to replace Berman per Senate nomination procedure. Both Schumer and Gillibrand are refusing to send Graham notification. 
#Developing: @SenSchumer calls for DOJ Inspector General to investigate the attempted firing of Berman by @realDonaldTrump and AG Bill Barr
#New: @realDonaldTrump fires Geoffrey Berman. AG Barr said Berman had “chosen public spectacle over public service... Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the Pres. to remove you as of today, and he has done so.”
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#Developing: AG Barr disputes Berman’s assertion he can't be fired, and cites precedent that says essentially President Trump "may, at anytime, remove the judicially appointed United States Attorney."
#Developing: @realDonaldTrump tells reporters at the White House he's "not involved" in the firing of US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, and that decision is up to AG Bill Barr.
After AG Barr releases statement @realDonaldTrump has fired US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, President Trump says he has nothing to do with Berman’s removal.
#New: Geoffrey Berman says he will now step down as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
