US: White House standing by controversial firing of US attorney

The White House is standing by the decision to fire Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

"The attorney general was taking the lead on this matter.," said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh Mcennany.

"He did come to the president report to him when Mr. Berman decided not to leave. And at that point is when the president agreed with the decision of the Attorney general and that to fire Mr. Berman and to promote Mr. Clayton."

On Saturday, Attorney General William Barr said Berman’s refusal to resign under pressure prompted Trump to fire him.

Trump tried to distance himself from the dispute, telling reporters the decision “was all up to the attorney general.”

This episode deepened tensions between the Justice Department and congressional Democrats, who have accused Barr of politicizing the agency and acting more like Trump’s personal lawyer than the country’s chief law enforcement officer. It also raised questions about ongoing investigations in the Southern District of New York, most notably a probe into Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney.

Barr set off the whirlwind chain of events on Friday night with a surprise announcement that Berman was resigning, without explanation. But Berman insisted he had not resigned, was not stepping down and his investigations would continue.

After announcing Berman's resignation, the White House said it was nominating Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton, a well-connected Wall Street lawyer with virtually no experience as a federal prosecutor, for the job.

Berman, a Republican who contributed to the president’s election campaign, worked for the same law firm as Giuliani and was personally interviewed by Trump before being tapped as U.S. attorney. But he won over some skeptics after overseeing numerous prosecutions and investigations with ties to Trump.

Though Berman is said to be unclear about the exact reason he was fired, people familiar with his thinking said his job had always seemed in jeopardy and he never had the sense it was secure.

McEnany also said the president was happy with the attendance at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday.