lokroma reviewed Holding the Line by Geoffrey Berman
Review of 'Holding the Line' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
After Trump fired respected lawyer Preet Bharara in 2018, he appointed Geoffrey Berman as the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, hoping to get more favorable decisions for his political allies. The SDNY was long known for its toughness and independence, and Berman disappointed Trump and his Attorney General, William Barr, by continuing to prosecute cases, regardless of Trump's meddling, "without fear or favor." He resisted AG Barr's attempts to interfere in prosecutions against Michael Cohen, John Kerry, and matters related to Ukraine and Turkey's Halkbank. Berman was ultimately fired by Barr with a very public and controversial press release which the ousted lawyer learned about from a text his wife received.
Berman tells his story with an easily read, breezy style. He describes many of the high profile cases prosecuted by the SDNY while he was there and although familiar, there are lots of new …
After Trump fired respected lawyer Preet Bharara in 2018, he appointed Geoffrey Berman as the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, hoping to get more favorable decisions for his political allies. The SDNY was long known for its toughness and independence, and Berman disappointed Trump and his Attorney General, William Barr, by continuing to prosecute cases, regardless of Trump's meddling, "without fear or favor." He resisted AG Barr's attempts to interfere in prosecutions against Michael Cohen, John Kerry, and matters related to Ukraine and Turkey's Halkbank. Berman was ultimately fired by Barr with a very public and controversial press release which the ousted lawyer learned about from a text his wife received.
Berman tells his story with an easily read, breezy style. He describes many of the high profile cases prosecuted by the SDNY while he was there and although familiar, there are lots of new details (for me, the Jeffrey Epstein case). Despite the book's subtitle, some cases were included that did not involve battles with AG Barr's office. I'm not sure why they were there, except perhaps to beef up the book.
Berman advocates for Congressional changes to avoid meddling in U.S. Attorney's offices around the country, but since Congress is operating about as ethically as Barr was, I doubt changes will happen any time soon. Still, it's somewhat of a comfort to read about someone fighting for justice in such a courageous and impartial way.
