U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman is leaving as head of the powerful Southern District of New York, Attorney General William Barr announced late Friday. The Manhattan office is one of the nation’s mightiest districts, trying major cases against the mobsters, terrorists — and allies of President Donald Trump, including his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
But Berman issued his own statement following Barr’s announcement, saying that he has “no intention of resigning my position.” Berman said the first he learned that he was “stepping down” was from Barr’s press release. He vowed that he will stay and to “important cases” will continue “unimpeded.”