Preet Bharara, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, pulled no punches on Twitter late Friday night calling out Attorney General Bill Barr as a “liar”
The came after an accusation that Barr had intentionally tried to mislead people about the sudden “resignation” of US attorney Geoffrey Berman.
The brouhaha began late Friday night after Barr announced in a press statement that Berman — Bharara’s successor on the job — would be resigning from his position. The late-night bombshell raised eyebrows, especially as Berman had reportedly been investigating billions of dollars in loans made by Deutsche Bank to President Trump’s company and that of son-in-law Jared Kushner in years past. Berman had also been investigating the finances of Trump’s inaugural celebrations.
Hours later, however, Berman put out a statement of his own contradicting Barr, saying he’s not going anywhere.
“I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was ‘step☂ping down’ as United States Attorney,” Berman, said in a statement . “I have not resigned, and have no ⭕intention of resigning, my position, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York,” Berman’s statement continued.
Berman’s refusal to leave sets up a showdown with the Justice Department over how and when he might ultimately be forced from the job.
Peanut galleries online were also abuzz, with #FridayNightMassacre trending on social mediaღ into Saturday morning.
Reps for Barr at DOJ did no💃t ﷽immediately respond to request for comment from The Post.