Tag: Bill Barr

Barr ensnared in Roger Stone firestorm

The Hill logoAttorney General Bill Barr is engulfed in a political firestorm on Capitol Hill amid the fallout from the Justice Department’s decision to reduce its recommended sentence for Roger Stone. 

Democrats are clamoring for Barr to testify and for the department’s decision to be investigated, arguing the move is the latest sign that Trump is feeling emboldened after Republicans acquitted him last week of abusing his power and obstructing Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Barr an “enabler” of Trump, adding, “That’s a kind word.”  Continue reading.

Harris asks Graham to bring in Barr over Stone sentencing

She wants an explanation of the handling of the Roger Stone case.

Sen. Kamala Harris demanded Tuesday that Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) bring in Attorney General William Barr to testify about the Justice Department’s handling of the sentencing of former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone.

The California Democrat’s request comes after the Justice Department backed off a previous recommendation for a seven-to-nine-year sentence for Stone for impeding federal investigations into connections between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. The DOJ’s revised sentencing recommendation occurred after President Donald Trump tweeted that the initial recommendation was “horrible and very unfair,” though a Justice Department official speaking on condition of anonymity insisted the decision to retreat was made before Trump took aim at the initial proposal.

The revised recommendation appears to have prompted the withdrawal of the four prosecutors handling Stone’s case. Continue reading.

Trump just made the DOJ’s Roger Stone intervention look even worse

Washington Post logoTrump directly implicated Attorney General William P. Barr, which will only increase questions about Barr doing his political bidding.

Amid a growing storm Tuesday within the Justice Department over its unorthodox intervention in the sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Trump, officials maintained that there was nothing untoward about what happened. They said the decision was made independent of Trump’s very public gripes about the matter. They said it was the result of a “breakdown” in communication.

Then Trump tweeted.

The president took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to congratulate Attorney General William P. Barr for “taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought.” Continue reading.

Barr to testify before House Judiciary panel

The Hill logoAttorney General William Barr has agreed to give testimony before the House Judiciary Committee next month amid growing questions over the administration’s alleged interference in the criminal case of a close ally of President Trump.

Democrats on the panel released a letter Wednesday confirming Barr’s March 31 appearance, saying they are concerned the agency has become politicized under his watch.

“In the interest of transparency, we wish to be candid about one set of concerns we plan to address at the hearing. Since President Trump took office, we have repeatedly warned you and your predecessors that the misuse of our criminal justice system for political purposes is both dangerous to our democracy and unacceptable to the House Judiciary Committee,” they wrote. Continue reading.

Trump says he has the ‘absolute tight’ to tell the Justice Department what to do

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump says he has the “absolute right” to direct the Dept. of Justice in who and how it prosecutes, but claims that he didn’t, despite his furious tweet overnight attacking the DOJ and calling prosecutors’ sentencing recommendation of Roger Stone a “miscarriage of justice.”

Trump also called the 7 to 9 year recommendation of jail time for Stone, his ally, confidant, and former campaign advisor, an “insult to our country.” Trump often conflates himself and the nation, as if he is the country.

Saying he did not speak to anyone at DOJ Trump then said, “I’d be able to do it if I wanted I have the absolute right to do it.” Continue reading.

House Judiciary Goes After AG Barr Over Back Channel For Giuliani To Give Info On Ukraine

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote a letter to the attorney general demanding answers about the DOJ’s new “intake process” to vet tips from Rudy Giuliani.

The House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Monday demanding answers regarding the Justice Department’s new so-called “intake process” to receive information from Rudy Giuliani about Ukraine and the Bidens.

Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-N.Y.) letter comes hours after Barr admitted that the department would evaluate material that Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, had collected from Ukrainian sources claiming to have damaging information about 2020 candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

Giuliani’s gathering of such information was a huge part of Trump’s attempt to get Ukraine to announce an investigation into the Bidens ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which led to the president’s impeachment (and eventual acquittal). Much of what the former New York City mayor has said to media outlets so far has consisted of conspiracy theories and misinformation. Continue reading.

Trump administration goes to war with states over immigration

The Justice Department sues California and New Jersey to overcome enforcement roadblocks.

The Trump administration dramatically escalated its war with so-called sanctuary states Monday, filing suit against California and New Jersey over laws that federal officials say undermine immigration enforcement.

The Justice Department suits target a California law banning privately run detention centers and a New Jersey law limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The new barrage of litigation also included a suit against a county in Washington state that effectively prohibits federal contractors from using the Seattle airport to carry out deportations.

“In various jurisdictions, so-called ‘progressive’ politicians are jeopardizing the public’s safety by putting the interests of criminal aliens before those of law-abiding citizens,” Attorney General Bill Barr said as he announced the moves during a speech to a sheriffs‘ group in Washington. Continue reading.

DOJ asks judge to sentence Roger Stone to 7-9 years in prison

The Hill logoThe Department of Justice (DOJ) recommended on Monday that former Trump aide Roger Stone serve a prison sentence of between 7 and 9 years for lying to Congress and witness tampering.

In a court filing to a federal district judge in Washington ahead of Stone’s Feb. 20 sentencing, the department said the longtime Trump associate should be punished in accordance with sentencing guidelines, which recommend between 87 and 108 months.

“Roger Stone obstructed Congress’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, lied under oath, and tampered with a witness,” the DOJ court filing reads. “And when his crimes were revealed by the indictment in this case, he displayed contempt for this Court and the rule of law.” Continue reading.

NOTE:  Updates  on this will post tomorrow.

Legal expert stunned as Bill Barr delivers a ‘very strange’ response to DOJ accepting dirt from Rudy Giuliani

AlterNet logoThis Monday, U.S. prosecutors charged four Chinese military hackers over the 2017 cyberattack at Equifax. The hack caused a data breach that involved over 147 million credit reports.

In a press conference in the wake of the charges, Attorney General William Barr gave some opening remarks, then took one question from a reporter regarding recent comments made by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), where he said that Barr told him that the Justice Department “created a process that Rudy could give information and they would see if it’s verified.”

Responding to the reporter’s question, Barr said the DOJ “has the obligation to have an open door to anybody who wishes to provide us information that is relevant.” Continue reading.

Barr acknowledges Justice Dept. has created ‘intake process’ to vet Giuliani’s information on Bidens

Washington Post logoAttorney General William P. Barr acknowledged Monday that the Justice Department would evaluate material that Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, had gathered from Ukrainian sources claiming to have damaging information about former vice president Joe Biden and his family — though Barr and other officials suggested Giuliani was being treated no differently than any tipster.

At a news conference on an unrelated case, Barr confirmed an assertion made Sunday by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) that the Justice Department had “created a process that Rudy could give information and they would see if it’s verified.”

Barr said he had established an “intake process in the field” so that the Justice Department and intelligence agencies could scrutinize information they were given. Continue reading.