Trump Pushed Officials to Prosecute His Critics, Ex-U.S. Attorney Says

[Nevilledog]

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John Sipher
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“Throughout my tenure as U.S. attorney,” Mr. Berman, 62, writes, “Trump’s Justice Department kept demanding that I use my office to aid them politically, and I kept declining — in ways just tactful enough to keep me from being fired.”
President Trump’s tweets set off pressure on prosecutors, according to the former top prosecutor’s book.

nytimes.com
Trump Pushed Officials to Prosecute His Critics, Ex-U.S. Attorney Says
Geoffrey S. Berman, who headed the Manhattan office, says in a book the Justice Department pushed cases, against John Kerry and others, to help Mr. Trump.
3:59 AM · Sep 8, 2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/nyregion/geoffrey-berman-trump-book.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

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https://archive.ph/95Tg6

A book by a former top federal prosecutor offers new details about how the Justice Department under President Donald J. Trump sought to use the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan to support Mr. Trump politically and pursue his critics — even pushing the office to open a criminal investigation of former secretary of state John Kerry.

The prosecutor, Geoffrey S. Berman, was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York for two and a half years until June 2020, when Mr. Trump fired him after he refused a request to resign by Attorney General William P. Barr, who sought to replace him with an administration ally.
A copy of Mr. Berman’s book, “Holding the Line,” was obtained by The New York Times before its scheduled publication Tuesday.

The book paints a picture of Justice Department officials motivated by partisan concerns in pursuing investigations or blocking them; in weighing how forthright to be in court filings; and in shopping investigations to other prosecutors’ offices when the Southern District declined to act.

The book contains accounts of how department officials tried to have allusions to Mr. Trump scrubbed from charging papers for Michael D. Cohen, his former personal lawyer, and how the attorney general later tried to have his conviction reversed. It tells of pressure to pursue Mr. Kerry, who had angered Mr. Trump by attempting to preserve the nuclear deal he had negotiated with Iran.

*snip*

[Brainfodder]

2. He is walking, talking, stumbling, mumbling, FREE, STILL?

Not one of you in Mar-A walking distance will citizens arrest him?

I don't blame ya, I don't think I could stop myself from pummeling him either, then again one could argue it aint even a crime.

[liberal N proud]

3. That's what fascist leaders do

[gratuitous]

4. And who did you tell about this, Mr. Berman?

Clearly, the former guy saw DOJ as his personal law firm, and compromised the department nine ways from Sunday. For the former guy it was heaven: A fully-staffed team of experienced, professional lawyers at his beck and call, and never an invoice!

Perhaps best of all, not a one of them told the media (or if they did, the media weren't interested in the story) in real time about it. So when the House impeached that lawless fucker - twice - Senate Republicans didn't have to answer a whole bunch of pointed questions about their failure to vote to convict him because nobody knew anything.

I hope Mr. Berman's book sells well enough for him to buy his integrity back. Shouldn't cost much, after all.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

5. But it's Joe Biden who's politicizing DOJ in RWNJ Fantasy World

[Sogo]

6. "The book paints a picture of Justice Department officials motivated by partisan concerns..."

And what became of those Justice Department officials? Are they still at DOJ? Are they mucking up the works on current investigations? Is that why TFG isn't behind bars yet????

[karynnj]

7. How many people can say they were targeted by the 2 most paranoid Presidents

Neither finding anything he did that was illegal. Both Nixon and Trump investigated Kerry, a war hero, and a patriot with exemplary moral and ethical values ---- the opposite of MAGA.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

8. Sounds criminal to me...

18 U.S. Code § 1513 - Retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant

(e) Whoever knowingly, with the intent to retaliate, takes any action harmful to any person, including interference with the lawful employment or livelihood of any person, for providing to a law enforcement officer any truthful information relating to the commission or possible commission of any Federal offense, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.