D21 Documents AG Barr’s Repeated Abuses of Office, Calls for House and DOJ Investigations of Barr
Democracy 21 Documents Attorney General Barr’s Repeated Abuses of Office, Calls for House and DOJ Investigations of Barr
In an apparently unprecedented act, the sentencing recommendation submitted by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the case of Roger Stone was withdrawn and changed by the Justice Department.
According to a report by NBC News, this withdrawal and resubmission occurred after President Trump attacked the original Stone sentencing recommendation and Attorney General William Barr took control of the Stone case. The report says that Barr has also been taking control of other legal matters of interest to President Trump.
“Attorney General Barr is politicizing the Justice Department in plain sight. Barr is dangerously undermining the Department’s independence, integrity and credibility by engaging in multiple abuses of office,” Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer said.
On January 17, 2020, Democracy 21 filed a complaint with DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) against Attorney General Barr that documented Barr’s pattern of biased actions in favor of President Trump and the Attorney General’s repeated failures to comply with Justice Department norms, rules and standards of conduct. The complaint requested OPR to investigate and take appropriate action regarding Barr’s improprieties.
See the Democracy 21 complaint here and a Wertheimer article published by Just Security entitled “William Barr: A Failed Attorney General Unfit to Serve” here.
“The House of Representatives should begin an investigation and hearings promptly into Attorney General Barr’s repeated abuses of his office, starting with the reported interventions in the Roger Stone and Michael Flynn convictions,” according to Wertheimer.
The stated core mission of the Justice Department is “to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.”
“Attorney General Barr has repeatedly compromised and publicly undermined the Justice Department’s mission. Barr is misusing the Justice Department to serve President Trump’s political interests and personal desires at enormous costs to the Department, to the public servants who work there and to the American people. Barr is unfit to serve as Attorney General and the sooner Barr leaves office, the better off our country will be,” Wertheimer said.
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