Barr brawl overMan. US attorney

In a stunning plot twist, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman issued a statement Friday night asserting that he will not, in fact, resign — in direct contradiction to an announcement that he was stepping down made hours earlier by Attorney General William Barr.

“I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was ‘stepping down’ as United States Attorney,” Berman (inset top), said in a statement posted to the Southern District of New York Twitter account.

“I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my posi- tion, to which I was appointed by the Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York,” Berman’s statement continued.

“I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate,” he continued.

Berman’s refusal to resign the position he’s held for 2¹/2 years now sets up a power struggle with the Justice Department over arguably the most prestigious US attorney’s office in the country — the Manhattanbased Southern District of New York — just five months before the presidential election.

At midnight, New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, tweeted that he will invite Berman to testify before the committee on Wednesday during a planned hearing on Barr (inset bottom).

“America is right to expect the worst of Bill Barr, who has repeatedly interfered in criminal investigations on

Trump’s behalf,” Nadler tweeted.

Berman in his statement promised that his investigations — some of which touch directly on Trump or his closest aides and associates, including reportedly Rudy Giuliani — “will move forward without delay or interruption” until his replacement is confirmed.