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Fired Trump-era prosecutor welcomes Senate investigation into allegations

by Julia Shapero - 09/13/22 12:26 PM ET

FILE – Geoffrey S. Berman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a news conference April 23, 2019, in New York. In a new book entitled “Holding the Line,” Berman said he was repeatedly pressured by Justice Department officials to use his office to aid them politically, including by investigating former Secretary of State John Kerry. Berman wrote in his upcoming book, due to be published Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, that he mostly resisted the pressure from Washington, according to the The New York Times. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Ex-U.S. attorney Geoffrey Berman said on Tuesday that he welcomes the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation into his recent claims that former President Trump’s Justice Department pressured his office to prosecute Trump’s critics and protect his allies.

The recent allegations stem from Berman’s new book, “Holding the Line,” published Tuesday.

“I welcome the investigation,” Berman told MSNBC. “The conduct that occurred was so outrageous and unprecedented. A light needs to be shined on it.”

Berman, who served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, alleged in a new book that the Justice Department pushed his office to take action against Trump critics, such as former Secretary of State John Kerry and former White House counsel Greg Craig, while seeking to block cases against the former president’s allies, like his personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

The former U.S. attorney said he resisted the Justice Department’s demands, and Trump eventually fired him in 2020.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who serves as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday that the committee plans to investigate the allegations and requested documents and communications between the Justice Department and Berman’s former office.

“If accurate, Mr. Berman’s claims indicate multiple instances of political interference in the Department’s investigative and prosecutorial decisions,” Durbin said.