On CNN Saturday, former homicide prosecutor Paul Callan said that President Donald Trump will not be able to easily remove SDNY prosecutor Geoffrey Berman if he doesn't intend to resign.
"They are considered to be one of the most independent and the most prestigious offices," said Callan. "They have a nickname. They're called the Sovereign District of New York, as if they're a separate nation, that's how independent they are often considered."
"I think the president's going to have a great deal of difficulty enforcing Mr. Berman out of office, because he came in under strange circumstances," said Callan. "The president replaced Preet Bharara, who is now a CNN analyst, with Mr. Berman, and Berman came out of the same law firm as Rudy Giuliani. But legal professionals have come to respect Berman because he started a lot of investigations, many of them touching on the president and his associates. And because he has not been approved by the Senate, a panel of judges in New York renewed his appointment as [U.S. attorney]. And he's supposed to remain in office until the Senate confirms a new [U.S. attorney]."
"I think if Berman insists on staying in office, the president is going to have a difficult time forcing him out, unless, of course, he gets the Senate to approve a replacement," concluded Callan.
Watch below:
