Trump’s Latest Failed Ploy Shows the System Is Working
Time and again, the president has tried to obstruct justice. Yet the constitutional system is holding up under stress.
Partners in (attempted) crime.
Photographer: Doug Mills Pool/Getty Images
Once again, President Donald Trump has tried to meddle improperly with the federal justice system. Once again, he has failed. The pattern is a consistent one — and tells a more hopeful story than might be expected.
Late at night, on June 19, Attorney General William Barr announced that Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was stepping down. A short time later, Berman said he was doing no such thing, implied that Barr was exceeding his authority and effectively forced the attorney general to get the president’s own say-so on the matter the next day. Trump’s preferred replacement was blocked from immediately taking office and Berman’s deputy took the helm.