Bill Barr is even more of a criminal than we thought
Following William Barr’s decision to insert himself into the sentencing of Roger Stone, four seasoned prosecutors walked away from the case, and numerous members of Congress have asked for his resignation. Now, more than two thousand former prosecutors and DOJ officials are also calling for his resignation. The DOJ Alumni, as they call themselves, have posted a public statement detailing what they think about Barr’s interference, and their complaints include “president” Donald Trump.
Barr is not only despicable, but his actions go against everything for which the DOJ stands. According to the prosecutors’ statements, their purpose is to be “apolitical” and mete out justice according to the crimes which have been committed. In the case of Roger Stone, the nature of his crimes led many to believe that 7 to 9 years isn’t enough, but certainly, no one who has ever worked in the criminal justice arena thinks it’s too much. Not only did Stone threaten the safety of witnesses against him, he was so bold as to threaten the judge’s safety over his case. Stone failed miserably to learn from his crimes, and his mindset tells him it’s okay to escalate his crimes because he will get away with it. How dare Trump and Barr try make that reality?
Barr and Trump are trying to dismantle our Constitution by removing the norms. The DOJ Alumni point out that they “took an oath to support and defend our Constitution,” which is the exact opposite of what Trump and Barr do daily. As the DOJ Alumni write, “President Trump and Attorney General Barr have openly and repeatedly flouted” the DOJ’s “core mission and its sacred obligation to ensure equal justice under the law.” What Trump and Barr have done is far beyond that obligation. They are rewarding a known criminal because he is an ally of “president” Trump. As the DOJ Alumni state, this interference is “a grave threat to the fair administration of justice. In this nation, we are all equal before the law.” Not if Trump and Barr have their way. Barr has no respect for the very law he was sworn to uphold. Trump wants to be a dictator, and he chose the right “AG” to help him achieve his objective of lawlessness.
CNN reached out to the Department Sunday for comment, which was, of course, declined. Senators Sanders, Warren, and Klobuchar have all publicly stated that Barr should resign. Klobuchar appeared on State of the Union and said that she would “be glad if he resigned” but further stated that she doesn’t believe he will. She does, however, believe that he will testify before the House Judiciary Committee, and she wants him to appear before the Senate so that they can question him about his influence of Stone’s sentence.
Who knows what Trump is paying Barr under the table in additional to the money he’s stealing from us. These men love power and money, and they are getting exactly what they want. The DOJ Alumni said it best: “Governments that use the enormous power of law enforcement to punish their enemies and reward their allies are not constitutional republics; they are autocracies.” That is exactly what Trump wants and exactly why he must go.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years