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WASHINGTON, June 20-- U.S. Attorney General William Barr said on Saturday that President Donald Trump has fired Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman, who refused to step down over unfinished investigations. In a letter to Berman, Barr accused of him choosing "public spectacle over public service." "Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning. I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so," Barr wrote. Speaking to reporters at the White House before leaving for a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday afternoon, Trump claimed that Berman's firing was up to Barr and that he was "not involved." Trump announced late Friday night his intention to nominate Jay Clayton, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to replace Berman, who served as the attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2018. In a stunning response, Berman, who ran the probe that sent Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen to prison and is reportedly investigating his current personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, said that he has not resigned and that he has "no intention of resigning." "I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight I was 'stepping down' as United States Attorney," Berman said Fright night. "I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption." | 
