Tensions that have built up over the past year fed Barr's distrust of Berman and SDNY, these people say. Justice Department officials in Washington were angered last year at the way prosecutors in Berman's office provided updates in the Giuliani probe early in Barr's tenure. Some Justice officials thought that New York prosecutors initially underplayed how much focus investigators already had on Giuliani. That's an indication, some Justice officials say, of how badly Barr had miscalculated the Berman ouster. Months later, Justice officials learned the case was much more politically sensitive.

Source: CNN June 28, 2020 16:30 UTC