William Barr: Geoffrey Berman was an ‘interim’ U.S. attorney ‘living on borrowed time’

Attorney General William P. Barr said in a new interview that former U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman had always been “living on borrowed time” and that he was “interim.”

Mr. Barr said all U.S. attorneys are appointed by the president and can be removed by the president.

“The president had never made an appointment to that office. Geoffrey Berman was interim,” Mr. Barr told NPR in an interview published on Thursday. “He was appointed by the court as a temporary U.S. attorney holding the fort. He was living on borrowed time from the beginning.”

The attorney general said that when Jay Clayton, Mr. Trump’s pick to replace Mr. Berman, said he was prepared to leave the government but “wanted to go back up to New York but very much would desire this job,” Mr. Barr saw it as an opportunity to put in a “strong person” to the office.

Mr. Clayton is the current chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and his nomination is already on the rocks.

Democrats are demanding an investigation into Mr. Berman’s recent firing, saying the administration was trying to get rid of someone whose office was overseeing investigations into Mr. Trump and his associates.

“I certainly was aware that given the current environment, anytime you make a personnel move, you know, conspiracy theorists will suggest that there’s something, there’s some ulterior motive involved,” Mr. Barr said. “But I felt this was actually a good time to do it because I was not aware of anything that should, in reality, give rise to that.”

Mr. Barr last Friday announced Mr. Berman would be leaving his post as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most prominent prosecutor positions in the country.

Mr. Berman initially refused, but ultimately announced he would be leaving the position after Mr. Trump agreed that he should be fired.

The White House said Mr. Trump was involved in a “sign-off” capacity but that Mr. Barr was leading the process.

Mr. Berman had taken the place of former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Mr. Bharara had initially refused to resign in 2017 and was ultimately fired by Mr. Trump.