‘You could call that a quid pro quo’: SDNY’s Berman discussed Bill Barr’s effort to entice him out of his job

When Attorney General William Barr moved to push federal prosecutor Geoffrey Berman out of the Southern District of New York, he reportedly offered to transfer him into another job in the Justice Department's Civil Division.

On Monday, the released transcript of Berman's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee revealed that he was asked specifically about this interaction, and when pressed by Republican attorney Steve Castor, said "I assume you could call that a quid pro quo."

Later in the interview, Berman moved to downplay the significance of this remark, saying, "The use of the word 'quid pro quo' was not my term. It was foisted upon me, and I was asked to comment on it. And I simply noted that a quid pro quo means this for that."

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