Top Manhattan Prosecutor Ousted by Trump Details Firing

Mr. Berman said he told Mr. Barr that Mr. Clayton was “an unqualified choice” for the Southern District post because he had never been a federal prosecutor nor had criminal legal experience.

Mr. Berman told the committee that he had also consulted with private lawyers after talking with Mr. Barr to be ready to mount a legal challenge if he were dismissed. He said he ultimately chose not to litigate his removal after learning that his “handpicked and trusted deputy,” Audrey Strauss, would become acting U.S. attorney until a permanent successor was in place.

Mr. Berman’s case is just part of the larger inquiry. Two department officials testified publicly last month that they had witnessed political appointees intervene in criminal and antitrust cases to serve the political interests and preferences of Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr. And the attorney general himself is scheduled to go before lawmakers this month in his first time before the panel overseeing his department.

In a hearing in late June, Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, a prosecutor who worked on the Russia investigation, told the committee that senior department officials had overruled career prosecutors to recommend a more lenient sentence for Roger J. Stone Jr., one of Mr. Trump’s longtime friends and campaign associates, “because of politics.” Mr. Zelinsky said that his supervisors explained that they were under political pressure to change the sentencing guidelines and that the head of the United States attorney’s office in Washington was “afraid of” Mr. Trump.

Mr. Berman, in his prepared remarks Thursday, said he was appearing before the committee at its request, and lawmakers agreed to voluntarily limit the scope of his testimony to avoid a conflict with the Justice Department. No department lawyers were expected to attend the session.

He was also expected to answer questions posed by bipartisan committee staff members and top lawmakers, a transcript of which was expected to be released in the coming days.

In recounting the events that led to his departure, Mr. Berman said he received an email on June 18 from a member of Mr. Barr’s staff, asking him to meet the attorney general the next day at the Pierre Hotel in New York. He was not told the purpose of the meeting.