The former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Geoffrey Berman, is scheduled to take part in a closed-door hearing before the House of Representatives next week, The Hill reported on Thursday, citing multiple unnamed congressional sources.
Arranged by House Democrats, the hearing will reportedly take place next Thursday.
On 19 June, Berman learned in a press release that he was “stepping down” from his role as attorney for the SDNY and responded in a statement that he had no intention of leaving office. He was then officially informed the next day by US Attorney General William Barr that President Donald Trump had removed him from his position.
The president, however, quickly asserted that he was “not involved” in firing the SDNY attorney, claiming that it was Barr’s request.
Following Berman’s removal, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said that the committee was launching a probe into the Trump administration’s dismissal of the Manhattan attorney.
The House scheduled Barr, a Trump appointee, to testify before the Judiciary Committee on the incident on 28 July.
“The House Judiciary Committee will immediately open an investigation into this incident, as part of our broader investigation into Barr’s unacceptable politicization of the Department of Justice,” Nadler said in a statement.
At least 135 former US attorneys and assistant US attorneys denounced Berman's firing in a statement. The letter noted that Berman had been investigating the president’s associates and described the move as being “without cause”. They accused the Trump administration of “politicising” the office of the US Attorney General and of “undermining confidence” in the US criminal justice system.
