Andy McCarthy calls firing of US attorney 'much ado about nothing'
Former assistant U.S. attorney and Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy reacts to firing of US Attorney Berman.
The recent firing of New York U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman -- as well as the outrage and hullabaloo that followed the action -- is "much ado about nothing," former assistant U.S. attorney Andy McCarthy asserted Tuesday.
In an interview on "America's Newsroom" with host Ed Henry, the Fox News contributor pointed out that Berman was simply an interim attorney "essentially keeping the seat warm" until a fully-appointed U.S. attorney was put in place.
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McCarthy explained that with the leadership and senators -- who have an impact on the confirmation process -- in the state of New York being Democrats, the challenge for President Trump has been to try to get his own people confirmed who will work with the Democrats in Congress.
"And, obviously, of lot of that [has] broken down," he noted.
FILE - In this April 23, 2019, file photo, Geoffrey Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a news conference in New York. Berman is stepping down as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
After Berman's confusing termination announcement and his eventual move to step down following a stand-off with the Justice Department (DOJ), the president nominated the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, as his replacement.
McCarthy said Clayton is a "natural guy" for the position because he was confirmed in his current position with bipartisan support.
"And, I actually think that was what this was about, because they weren’t trying to kick Berman to the curb. They actually offered him other important positions in the government," he remarked.
Berman was reportedly in the middle of an investigation into Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. The probe has led to charges against two of former New York mayor's associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman.
Berman's ousting has raised tensions even further between the DOJ and congressional Democrats, who have accused Attorney General William Barr of politicizing the agency.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., who helped prosecute the Trump impeachment case before the Senate, announced his committee will launch an investigation into the move, saying it "smacks of corruption and incompetence." In addition, Nadler invited Berman to testify before his committee on Wednesday. Nadler is expected to issue a subpoena to compel Barr to testify before the panel on the subject as well.
"You know, look, they’ve been taking every single thing that Barr does and trying to blow it way out of proportion in the obvious hope of discrediting him because they know the Durham investigation…that that’s coming within the coming weeks," McCarthy stated.
"So, they’re trying to destroy Barr’s credibility so that they can derivatively destroy the credibility of Durham’s investigation. And as a result, everything the attorney general does, I think, from here on out is going to be taken out of context and blown out of proportion just like this was," he predicted.
McCarthy also swiped at the "narrative" Democrats are "trying to spin" which is that "this is like the Saturday night massacre." He told Henry that was "belied by the fact that there's no reason to think the southern district of New York has those kind of cases that would do that kind of damage to the president."
"Moreover, in Barr's letter on Saturday, he told Berman that the supervisors in U.S. Attorney's office, if they think there is any political interference or problem whatsoever, [they] should immediately report that to the inspector general who Barr has authorized to investigate that already even though there’s no indication of it," he continued.
McCarthy added that Inspector General Michael Horowitz is an Obama-era appointee who worked in the southern district of New York for many years.
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"So, I just think this is a narrative that is designed for the purpose of trying to discredit the Durham investigation down the road. It’s got very little to do with what we’re looking at right in front of us," he concluded.
Barr said Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss will take over until a permanent successor is in place.
Fox Business's Paul Best, Fox News' Brooke Singman, Marisa Schultz, Jake Gibson, Ben Florance, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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