Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman will sit for a transcribed, closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee on July 9, a House aide told TPM.
Berman will sit for the interview at 12:00 p.m. next Thursday.
The move comes two weeks after Berman refused to resign from his post, after Attorney General William Barr suddenly announced the resignation on the night of June 19.
Berman’s office issued a press release at the time saying that “our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption.”
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) June 20, 2020
Berman only departed the following day after Barr reported that President Trump had fired him.
The interview comes as Barr has politicized a series of high-profile investigations and prosecutions undertaken by the Justice Department, prompting an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee.
Several federal prosecutors resigned in protest after Barr ordered a lighter sentencing recommendation for Trump ally Roger Stone, while the DOJ has undertaken an unprecedented reversal in moving to drop charges against ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
The SDNY has been conducting criminal investigations into a number of people and entities associated with President Trump, including his attorney Rudy Giuliani and the committee responsible for his 2017 inauguration.
The SDNY’s neighboring federal district in Brooklyn — the Eastern District of New York — also lost its top prosecutor on Thursday. There, Richard Donoghue is reportedly departing for a position as principal associate deputy general at the Justice Department’s D.C. headquarters.
CNN reported that the DOJ is considering replacing Donoghue with a Barr ally.
