Stepping Down Letter: Fill & Download for Free

The firing of Geoffrey Berman is most certainly an abuse of power. That being said, the President can fire any US Attorney at any time. Only one problem though- the SDNY headed by Geoffrey Berman was investigating Trump attorney Rudy Guiliani which makes this firing a potential obstruction of justice.Then, there are the bizarre circumstances of the Berman firing.First- In a late Friday night press release Attorney General Barr announced that Berman was stepping down from his post at the SDNY to accept another position. Mr. Berman immediately responded that he was NOT stepping down and all SDNY investigations would continue uninterrupted. Berman refused to vacate his post until a Senate confirmed successor was named.Second- AG Barr released a letter stating that the President had fired Berman with the intention of replacing him with SEC Chairman Jay Clayton who wanted the job (despite having zero experience)..Third- When asked about the firing of Mr. Berman, the President declared that he wasn't involved. Berman finally stepped down when assured that his Deputy Audrey Strauss would be replacing him, at least temporarily.The question is why all the cloak and dagger? Why lie about the circumstances of the Berman firing in the dark of night? What about the timing of this announcement? Why was it necessary to fire Berman so abruptly? Why was it necessary to lie about it? Why did Trump try to distance himself from the firing? Why was it so important to put Jay Clayton in this position without any prosecutorial experience?I don't think we've heard the end of this story by a long shot.

I suspect it’s Trump, in this case.Barr made a press release saying that Berman was stepping down, when Berman had previously (and privately) declined to quit at Barr’s insistence. This was Barr trying to force the issue, but Berman responded by saying he had no intention of quitting.Next, Barr sends Berman a letter saying that the President had therefore chosen to fire him. Trump, of course, insists that he left it to Barr to sort out:"That's his department, not my department… I'm not involved."Now, I could be convinced that William Barr had taken the initiative on making the initial statement saying that Berman was stepping down. That strikes me as his own effort. But the letter that followed? That’s Trump’s doing.We have to be clear on this: William Barr does not have the legal authority to fire Geoffrey Berman, because 28 U.S. Code § 541 specifies that firing a US Attorney has to be done by the President, and only he can do that. Barr has to know this, too, so I can’t see him having written that letter without first getting Trump to say that he would back him up on it (although you’ll note that Trump has not done this).Barr’s a sycophant and an authoritarian’s attack dog, but he doesn’t have the level of initiative to do this without Trump indicating that it was what he wanted. Knowing that firing Berman is illegal without the President’s confirmation, I’d have to assume that Trump gave it. Barr’s willing to bend the truth and push the limits of his office to breaking point in his allegiance to the Great Leader, but I don’t think he’d dare do something so brazenly illegal while Attorney General.Thus, Trump has to be lying. He’s clearly authorised Berman’s termination. Barr couldn’t have gone ahead with it otherwise.

He has nothing further to prove with Amazon. He did what he set out to do and, in doing so, became the richest man in the world. 27 years doing the same job is a long time. He probably asked himself, “Do I want to be doing this for the rest of my life?”He is stepping down to pursue other business-related interests.In a letter to employees explaining his transition from CEO to executive chairman of the board, he said the following.Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else. As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.source: Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy to take over in Q3