Trump Fired Her Boss. Now She’s Taking Cases That Incensed White House. Audrey Strauss has been a behind-the-scenes force in the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan as it pursued cases against people connected to President Trump. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Credit...
Lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in his battle with the New York attorney general's office got so tense in court proceedings on Thursday that the judge had to call several time-outs, The New York Times reported.
The district attorney’s criminal investigation into Mr. Trump began in the summer of 2018 under Mr. Vance, who initially looked into the Trump Organization’s role in paying hush money to a pornographic actress who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump.
As Insider's Laura Italiano, Sonam Sheth, and Jacob Shamsian reported, Trump lawyers also attacked James personally during the Thursday hearing, with the attorney Alina Habba accusing James, a Democrat, of "prosecutorial misconduct."
William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump.
Strauss was an Assistant US Attorney in SDNY from 1975 through 1982, trying more than twenty cases, and serving as Chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Unit and as the Criminal Division's Chief of Appeals. She also served on the staff for the Independent Counsel for the Iran Contra matter. In 2018, Ms.
Alvin Leonard Bragg Jr. (born October 21, 1973) is an American politician and lawyer from the state of New York who is serving as the New York County District Attorney. In 2021, he became the first African-American and first person of color elected to that office.
The President of the United States has the authority to appoint U.S. Attorneys, with the consent of the United States Senate, and the President may remove U.S. Attorneys from office.
Audrey Strauss, the new acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, reported income of about $1.5 million in a 2018 financial disclosure, before rejoining the office she now heads.
On Tuesday, Mr. Williams, 41, was confirmed by the Senate to be the next United States attorney for the Southern District of New York — a position whose occupants have included future judges, senators, cabinet members and a New York City mayor. The appointment would make Mr.
In a memo to staff, he said offenses like marijuana misdemeanors, prostitution, and fare evasion will no longer be prosecuted. Bragg thinks longer sentences do not deter crime and make society safer.
As Secretary of State, Vance approached foreign policy with an emphasis on negotiation over conflict and a special interest in arms reduction. In April 1980, he resigned in protest of Operation Eagle Claw, the secret mission to rescue American hostages in Iran. He was succeeded by Edmund Muskie.
The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal law violations in Manhattan are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York). The current district attorney is Alvin Bragg. He was elected in 2021 to succeed Cyrus Vance Jr.
Technically, no sitting President has ever fired an Attorney General they nominated to office with Senate approval. But President Trump clearly has the power to remove Sessions, based on the Constitution and past legal decisions. And most importantly, he can ask for his resignation.
A proceeding to suspend or remove a district attorney is commenced by filing with the clerk of superior court of the county where the district attorney resides a sworn affidavit charging the district attorney with one or more grounds for removal.
An attorney, acting under the direction of the Attorney General, who enforces federal laws within his or her jurisdiction and represents the federal government in civil and criminal cases. The United States Attorney is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a term of four years.
Berman’s ongoing investigations — fishing expeditions — reportedly include probes into the finances of Trump’s inaugural celebrations and into billions in Deutsche Bank loans made to Trump’s company and to the businesses of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Geoffrey S. Berman issued a statement Friday night asserting that he will not , in fact, resign — in direct opposition to an announcement that he was stepping down made hours earlier from Attorney General William Barr.
When Mr. Berman initially refused to step down, the plan fell apart. Mr. Trump ended up firing Mr. Berman on Saturday, leaving Ms. Strauss — Mr. Berman ’s top deputy — to emerge from the wreckage as the office’s new leader.
When Mr. Berman took over as U.S. attorney in 2018, he brought Ms. Strauss out of retirement to become his senior counsel and later his deputy. She had worked as a Southern District prosecutor from 1976 to 1983, trying more than 20 cases and rising to chief of criminal appeals and, later, of the securities fraud unit.
Calk was indicted in the Southern District last year after he was accused of giving millions of dollars in high-risk loans to Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, in an effort to obtain a senior position in the administration . Mr. Calk has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled to begin in September.
Ms. Strauss was the one who signed the indictment against Mr. Calk.
Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had signaled that he would allow New York’s Democratic senators to block Mr. Trump’s first choice, Mr. Clayton, to replace Mr. Berman. Lisa Zornberg, a former chief of the Southern District’s criminal division, said Ms. Strauss was an inspiration to younger lawyers, ...
Mr. Barr had announced that the president intended to nominate Jay Clayton, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as Mr. Berman’s permanent replacement. But Ms. Strauss is likely to remain the acting U.S. attorney until at least the election.
Berman refused to step down until Saturday, when Ms. Strauss was named instead as his temporary replacement. When Mr. Berman took over as U.S. attorney in 2018, he brought Ms. Strauss out of retirement to become his senior counsel and later his deputy.
Some senators did take issue with the initial handling and fallout of the decision to remove Geoffrey Berman.
And they quickly dismissed Democrats’ suggestions about a corrupt motive in removing Berman — specifically, potential interference with ongoing investigations involving the president.