Powerful US attorney who investigated Trump associates refuses to step down after AG Barr tries to push him out

By Erica Orden, Kara Scannell and Evan Perez, CNN
Updated 9:08 AM ET, Sat June 20, 2020

Washington (CNN )–In a fast-escalating crisis Friday night, Attorney General William Barr tried to oust Geoffrey Berman, the powerful US attorney for the Southern District of New York who has investigated a number of associates of President Donald Trump, but Berman defied him by refusing to step down.

In an extraordinary statement sent roughly an hour after Barr said Berman was set to leave the office, Berman said he had learned of his purported exit from a press release.

“I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate,” Berman said. “Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption.”

US attorney behind inquiries into Trump allies refuses to resign despite announcement by AG Bill Barr above. (The Guardian) )

The standoff opens up a fresh crisis at the Justice Department, places the leadership of the most prominent federal prosecutors office outside Washington in a precarious position and again raises questions about Barr’s willingness to steer the department to suit Trump’s political agenda.

Berman’s rebuttal came about an hour after the Department of Justice announced Trump intends to nominate Jay Clayton, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who has never been a prosecutor.

A Justice Department official told CNN that Berman was offered other positions at Justice, including the head of the civil division, where assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt abruptly announced his departure this week.

Berman declined. A second source with knowledge of the matter said Berman was asked to resign and refused. Barr asked Berman to resign in an in-person meeting in New York on Friday, the source said.

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Covid-19 hospitalizations continue to slow in NJ




Today’s coronavirus developments reported by NJSPOTLIGHT    

New Jersey officials reported an additional 516 confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, for a statewide cumulative total of 168,496.

* It was the first day in a week that the daily number was back over 500. By counties, the new positive results were led by Mercer (58), Monmouth (45), Essex (45), Passaic (40) and Atlantic (37). At the other end of the new-case count, single-digit increases were reported in six counties: Salem, Cumberland, Sussex, Warren, Cape May and Hunterdon.

* An additional 37 COVID-related deaths were reported today, raising the New Jersey total to 12,835. Six counties are reporting more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths: Essex (1,758), Bergen (1,691), Hudson (1,261), Union (1,131), Middlesex (1,097) and Passaic (1,013).

* There were no new reported deaths today in the three counties with fewer than 100 fatalities: Hunterdon (67), Salem (64) and Cape May (62).

* More than 450,000 have died globally, led by the United States (118,758), Brazil (47,748), the United Kingdom (42,546), Italy (34,561) and France (29,606), according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

* The number of COVID-19 patients in New Jersey hospitals dropped below 1,200 overnight, one of a number of positive milestones for hospitalization data. According reports by all 71 hospitals in the state, 1,177 patients were being treated for confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 yesterday. 286 were in critical or intensive care, a new low since the peak in mid-April when more than 2,000 people were severely ill.231, or roughly 81%, of those needing special care were on ventilators yesterday. Decreases were seen in all three regions of the state, with 493 patients in northern hospitals, 385 in central Jersey and 299 in the south. Statewide, 61 new patients with suspected COVID-19 entered New Jersey hospitals yesterday: 31 in the north, 20 in central Jersey and 10 in the south.108 COVID-19 patients were discharged, either to their homes or other care facilities.

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* Nearly 1.2 million tests for active COVID-19 infection have been conducted in New Jersey, including negatives. The daily, or spot, positivity rate of tests on June 15 fell nearly half a point to 2.47% statewide — 1.8% in the north, 2.07% in central Jersey and 4.69% in the south.

The rate of reproduction of the virus — or “Rt,” which gauges how many people are infected by each person with the virus — dipped slightly, to 0.70, on June 17. A rate that remains under 1.0 — as NJ’s has since the beginning of May — is an “indicator that the virus is ultimately going to die” out, Gov. Phil Murphy has said.

 For a second day, NJ Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli reported no new cases of a rare and serious pediatric inflammatory ailment that experts say stems from an overreaction of the immune system to COVID-19. The total number remains at 43, with no deaths. All have tested positive either for an active infection with the coronavirus or antibodies showing they were previously infected.

Nursing homes and other long-term care centers in New Jersey are reporting 6,377 deaths among residents during the pandemic, the vast majority of them laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19. They are also reporting the deaths of 116 staffers. 555 LTCs in New Jersey have reported coronavirus outbreaks. 35,600 positive test results have been reported among residents and staffers.

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Take a look at plans for Jersey City’s Newport Pier Park

By Chris Fry Jersey Digs -June 18, 2020

Lefrak Plans Newport Pier Park On Jersey City Waterfront
A currently vacant pier directly east of Ellipse will soon become Newport Pier Park. Photo by Chris Fry/Jersey Digs.

As Downtown Jersey City continues its northbound building boom toward the Hoboken border, one of the most prominent waterfront developers is set to construct a new park on a vacant lot that has some of the best New York City views around.

Back in March, we exclusively reported on LeFrak’s plans to bring greenery and open space to a property at 15 Park Lane South. The land is directly east of the company’s Ellipse development and is mostly a pier that juts out along the Hudson River.

Construction work stabilizing the pier has been ongoing for months and a formal plan for the 3.47-acre parcel could be finalized next week. Referred to as Newport Pier Park in documents submitted to the city, the plan would construct a private area in the center of the property along with several public sections sporting new amenities.

Newport Pier Park Jersey City Site Plan
Newport Pier Park site plan. Image credit Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects. (click to enlarge)

Designed by New York-based Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects with engineering work from Jersey City-based Dresdner Robin, the public portion of the scheme calls for a 2,000 square foot dog run along the western portion of the land. Just south, an overlook featuring a wood deck, tree pits, movable tables and chairs, and a “bar” complete with stools would face south along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway.

Newport Pier Park Deck Area
Seating deck area. Image credit Dresdner Robin.

Speaking of that walkway, the new park will add sections to it along the perimeter of the space. Lighted benches and two telescopes are included in the plans, as are chaise lounges along the eastern portion for locals to take in the view. A 14,000 square foot “art plaza” will adorn the northeast portion of the park and will feature a sculpture surrounded by seating.

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NJ Senate considering bill requiring recycled content in plastic and glass containers

The bill would require certain amounts of recycled plastic, paper and glass to be used in plastic and glass carryout containers, carryout bags and trash bags.

Bill could undermine prospect for ban on single-use plastic bags, some environmentalists fear as manufacturers question technical feasibility

TOM JOHNSON reports for NJSPOTLIGHT

The Legislature is looking at requiring some containers be manufactured with a minimum amount of recycled materials as a way to reduce plastic pollution. It’s an idea with some backing from advocates but with a caveat — not if it undermines pending approval of a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags.

The issue arose Wednesday during a committee hearing on a bill (S-2515) that aims to require certain amounts of recycled plastic, paper and glass to be used in plastic and glass carryout containers, carryout bags and trash bags.

Beyond reducing the manufacture of new plastics, the bill is viewed by proponents as helping to create new markets for recycled plastics and other materials that have otherwise collapsed, in part because of a decision by China to stop accepting recycled materials.

Gary Sondermeyer, vice president of operations at the Bayshore Recycling Corp. in Woodbridge, called the bill the most comprehensive blueprint for establishing a recycling market ever attempted in New Jersey.

“The point is to get as much of this stuff out of landfills and incinerators,’’ said Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the chairman of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and bill’s sponsor. It also would make recycling more feasible here while helping out municipalities who have seen recycling costs spike because the recyclables they collect end up in garbage dumps, he said.

Tentative support

The legislation won tentative backing from a range of business groups, although several had concerns that the percentages of recycling content mandated by the bill are not technically feasible. Environmental organizations also supported the measure, but only if it does not act as a substitute for a different Smith bill that would ban single-use plastic bags and tote bags.

That bill (S-864) won passage from the Senate this past March but has yet to be taken up by the Assembly. It is one of the top legislative priorities for many prominent environmental groups but has faltered in previous legislative sessions.

Alex Ambrose of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, endorsed the recycled-content bill but expressed concern, echoed by others, that the measure could undermine prospects for the single-use plastic ban.

“We cannot recycle our way out of the plastic single-use bag problem. The single-use plastic bag is not a recycling problem. It’s a manufacturing problem,’’ she said.

“Absolutely,’’ Smith agreed, saying he hoped the single-use bill would be taken up by the Assembly once lawmakers are less pressured by dealing with problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier, Smith denied his recycling bill was a substitute for the single-use plastic ban.

Why the skepticism?

Others were a bit skeptical, however. “He’s still pushing it, but is the Assembly even going to listen?’’ asked Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, who also endorsed the minimum-content bill.

“This legislation is an important step in the right direction when it comes to mitigating plastic use and reforming wasteful product packaging,’’ he said. The bill prohibits the sale of polystyrene loose fill packaging.

Some business groups did not oppose the bill, saying their members are already trying to increase the amount of recycled content in various products like containers and bags. But some of the bill’s proposed recycled content requirements — ranging from 10% to 35% are just not feasible, they said.

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FERC regulatory decision could cripple rooftop solar

From Inside Climate News

Rooftop solar as we know it is under threat from a case before federal regulators, and a broad array of clean energy advocates and state officials are getting nervous.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is considering a request from an obscure consumer group that wants to end net metering, which is the compensation mechanism that allows solar owners to sell their excess electricity to the grid. By selling the electricity they don’t need, solar owners get credits on their utility bills, producing savings that help to cover the costs of solar systems.

Monday was the deadline to file comments in the case, and those who responded were overwhelmingly opposed to the petition, but clean energy advocates say there is still a real chance that FERC will decide to throw out state laws that allow net metering.

“We want to be able to decide for ourselves what happens on the local grid,” said Brad Heavner, policy director for the California Solar & Storage Association. “This is clearly a local issue.”

He told me that getting rid of net metering “is pretty close to saying solar is illegal.”

I wouldn’t go quite that far, but it would be accurate to say that ending net metering would fundamentally undermine the economics of rooftop solar.
This case exists because the New England Ratepayers Association, a New Hampshire-based nonprofit organization, filed a petition in April that says net metering is an unfair subsidy that leads to a shift in costs to consumers who do not have rooftop solar.

The argument is a familiar one, often made by utilities and fossil fuel companies. It overlaps in some ways with arguments made by social justice groups that have long said that white people are getting a disproportionate share of the economic benefits of solar.

But the key difference is that utilities and fossil fuel companies are often trying to hold back development of rooftop solar, while the social justice groups are often trying to expand access to solar. Also, there is little evidence that the growth of solar leads to noticeably higher bills for non-solar customers.

The filing asks FERC to rule that net metering should be subject to wholesale pricing rules enforced by the federal government, effectively ending net metering.

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The goal of the petition “is to eviscerate state net metering and therefore eviscerate financing tools to make rooftop solar systems affordable,” said Tyson Slocum of the consumer group Public Citizen.

His group has said that New England Ratepayers is not being forthright about its sources of financing and is falsely claiming to stand up for low-income consumers. New England Ratepayers, which does not disclose its donors, got 90 percent of its budget from 15 companies or individuals paying dues of $20,000 or $5,000 each, according to the organization’s 2018 tax form.

I asked the New England Ratepayers to respond to these points.

“NERA has hundreds of individual and business members, and like many organizations uses its own judgment on how it determines its budget and membership fee tiers,” said Marc Brown, president of New England Ratepayers, in an email. “The unifying common denominator for its members is that they all pay electric utility bills, and are concerned about the cost-shift imposed on them by retail net metering.”

Looking at the filings in the case, there is a striking difference between the diversity of the hundreds of parties who want FERC to reject the petition, and the fewer than a half-dozen who support it.

The opponents of the petition include Republicans who are wary of federal encroachment on state authority, such as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. They also include social justice organizations such as the San Diego branch of the NAACP, which says solar is a vital part of developing a fairer and cleaner energy system.

Meanwhile, the supporters include the Heartland Institute, a leader in advancing climate denial, and Citizens Against Government Waste, an organization that describes itself as a watchdog for fiscally conservative causes.

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