Late Friday night U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced that President Trump intends to nominate SEC Chairman Jay Clayton as the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, replacing Geoffrey Berman.
In his statement, Barr said Berman is “stepping down” after two and a half years on the job without providing any details. But in a bizarre turn of events, Berman responded soon after that he had not resigned and had no intention of leaving office until “a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate.”
In his response, posted on the Southern District of New York website, Berman said that he learned of his “stepping down” in Barr’s press release.