READ: Ousted Manhattan US Attorney Berman testifies Barr ‘repeatedly urged’ him to resign

Geoffrey Berman, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, on Thursday testified that Attorney General William Barr “repeatedly urged” him to resign before forcing him out in June.

Berman told the House Judiciary Committee that prior to his ouster, he resisted Barr’s urging because “there were important investigations in the office that I wanted to see through to completion.”

Those investigations included whether President Trump’s personal attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, violated laws on lobbying for foreign interests as it relates to Ukraine.

“The Attorney General said that if I did not resign from my position I would be fired,” Berman told the Judiciary panel. “He added that getting fired from my job would not be good for my resume or future job prospects. I told him that while I did not want to get fired, I would not resign.” 

Berman in June made it clear he had not resigned from his position after the Justice Department announced he was “stepping down.”

Barr then said Berman had “chosen public spectacle over public service.”

Read Berman’s full opening statement below.