Geoffrey Berman
Geoffrey S. Berman | |
|---|---|
| File:Final - GBerman.jpg | |
| United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Interim | |
| Assumed office January 5, 2018[1] | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Preet Bharara Joon H. Kim (acting)[2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Geoffrey Steven Berman September 12, 1959 Trenton, New Jersey |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BA) Stanford Law School (JD) |
Geoffrey Steven Berman (born September 12, 1959) is an American lawyer currently serving as the Interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.[3] While Berman currently serves as U.S. attorney on an interim basis, it has been reported that President Donald Trump intends to nominate him to permanently serve in the position.[4]
Berman joins a long line of notable persons who have been U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, including Henry L. Stimson, Robert M. Morgenthau, Robert Fiske, Rudy Giuliani, Mary Jo White, James B. Comey, and Preet Bharara.
Early life and career
Berman, a native of Trenton, New Jersey, earned a B.A. in political science and a B.S. in economics at the University of Pennsylvania (1981).[5] He studied Law at Stanford (J.D. 1984).[6]
Berman began his career as a law clerk for Judge Leonard I. Garth in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.[7] He served for three years as an associate to independent counsel Lawrence Walsh during investigation into the Iran–Contra affair 1987-1990. There, he was part of a team that was able to prosecute former CIA employee, Thomas Cliness on tax fraud charges.
Berman later served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1990 to 1994.[8][9] Berman worked on several complex tax and fraud cases as a prosecutor, including the Masters of Deception computer hacking case. As a result of Berman’s prosecution of that case, his effigy was stabbed on the front cover of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly, a computer hacking magazine. Berman subsequently worked for Mudge Rose and Latham & Watkins, where he worked as a monitor to rid the New York Carpenter’s Union of mob control. He married Joanne Karen Schwartz August 20, 1994.[10]
Berman is currently a resident of New York, where he lived from 1984-2002, and was a resident of Princeton, New Jersey from 2002-2017. Berman was a partner of Rudolph Giuliani at Greenberg Traurig.[11] It was reported that Giuliani supported Berman for U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, but that Giuliani supported a different candidate for U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York.[12][13]
Berman represented Philip Kwon, the deputy general counsel at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey during the Bridgegate trial.[14] Berman denied that his client was ever told the lane closures were intended to punish anyone.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Upon President Donald Trump's firing Preet Bharara as U.S. Attorney, Trump reportedly interviewed Berman among other candidates for the position.[15] On January 3, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Berman's appointment as U.S. Attorney, along with 16 other former prosecutors, to serve in various offices around the country in an interim basis until the Senate can permanently confirm them.[16][17]
References
- ^ Kutner, Max (January 4, 2018). "Who is Geoffrey Berman? New U.S. Attorney Could Investigate Trump in Manhattam". Newsweek. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
- ^ "Statement By U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara". March 11, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ United States Department of Justice. "Attorney General Sessions Appoints 17 Current and Former Federal Prosecutors as Interim United States Attorneys". Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ Business Insider. "Trump selects Giuliani's law partner for top prosecutor job in New York replacing [[Preet Bharara]]". Retrieved January 3, 2018.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ Smythe, Christie; Dolmetsch, Chris; and Larson, Erik. "Giuliani Law Partner Named Top New York Federal Prosecutor", Bloomberg News, January 4, 2018. Accessed January 7, 2018. "A native of Trenton, New Jersey, where his father was a real estate developer, Berman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981 and its Wharton School."
- ^ "Shareholder profile". Greenberg Traurig. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ Bloomberg Politics. "Giuliani Law Partner Named Top New York Federal Prosecutor". Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ NY Post. "Trump picks Preet Bharara's replacement". Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ Feuer, Alan (August 7, 2017). "Trump May Nominate a Giuliani Law Partner as U.S. Attorney in Manhattan". New York Times. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ "Weddings – Joanne Schwartz, Geoffrey Berman". New York Times. August 21, 1994. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
- ^ Jackson, Herb. "Report: NJ attorney Berman being considered for top federal prosecutor in Manhattan", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 7, 2017. Accessed January 7, 2018. "Geoffrey Berman of Princeton was listed as a potential U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in a package of proposed candidates for New York judicial and prosecutorial vacancies sent to the state's U.S. senators in July, Buzzfeed said, citing a source familiar with the process."
- ^ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (May 31, 2017). "It's a Christie vs. Giuliani fight to pick Trump's next U.S. attorney for N.J." NJ Advance Media. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ Feuer, Alan (2017-08-14). "U.S. Attorney Candidate for Manhattan: A Canny Mind With Humor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
- ^ Seidman, Andrew (September 28, 2016). "Bridgegate testimony: Christie seemed to approve of retaliation against mayors". Philadelphia Enquirer. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ Politico. "Trump personally interviewed U.S. attorney candidates". Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ NBC News. "Sessions uses executive authority to appoint interim U.S. attorneys". Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ Washington Post. "Sessions names 17 interim U.S. attorneys, including in premier Manhattan office". Retrieved January 3, 2018.