This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
On June 19, 2020, Attorney General William P. Barr made a surprise announcement that he would be replacing Geoffrey S. Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, with Jay Clayton, the current chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr. Berman's office had been investigating several high-profile cases involving President Trump's associates, including the prosecution of Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, who pleaded guilty to various charges in 2018.
Mr. Berman's aggressive approach in these cases had drawn the ire of the Trump administration, and his replacement was seen as a move to undermine his investigations.
