Tag: Barr not acting as the people’s attorney

Justice Dept. asks Supreme Court to lift border wall ruling

The Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to step in to lift court orders blocking President Donald Trump from proceeding with his plan to spend billions of dollars on border wall construction despite Congress’ efforts to limit that spending.

Administration lawyers filed a stay application Friday afternoon seeking to lift an Oakland-based federal judge’s order blocking border wall projects in California, Arizona and New Mexico.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco told the high court that the injunction is impairing federal officials’ ability to cut drug trafficking across the border with Mexico.

View the complete July 12 article by Josh Gerstein on the Politico website here.

Dems hammer Barr over Mueller in four-hour grilling

Senate Democrats were fully unleashed in their grilling of Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday, accusing the top Department of Justice official of bungling the release of the Mueller report in an attempt to defend President Trump.

During the four-hour hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats seized on the explosive revelation that special counsel Robert Mueller had criticized Barr’s summary of his report in writing. Some suggested he was no longer fit to serve as attorney general.

“I think history will judge you harshly, and maybe a bit unfairly,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Barr.

View the complete May 1 article by Jacqueline Thomsen and Brett Samuels on The Hill website here.

Five takeaways from Mueller’s report

The release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Thursday ends a two-year investigation that has shadowed Donald Trump’s presidency but opens a new era likely to keep Mueller and his findings in the spotlight.

The White House and congressional Republicans welcomed Thursday’s report as positive news for the president, while Democrats vowed to move forward with their investigations.

Mueller ultimately did not establish that Trump or members of his campaign coordinated or conspired with Moscow to affect the 2016 presidential election, but he and his team declined to reach a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice.

View the complete April 18 article by Morgan Chalfant and Jacqueline Thomsen on The Hill website here.