Tag: Trump abuse of power

The degradation of William Barr’s Justice Department is nearly complete

Washington Post logoMARK THIS as another big step in the erosion of standards at Attorney General William P. Barr’s Justice Department.

The department on Tuesday suggested a light sentence for President Trump’s old friend Roger Stone, by overturning a previously filed and tougher proposal. It did so over the strong objections of four career line prosecutors, all of whom resigned from the case; one left the department entirely. This extraordinary intervention played out publicly after Mr. Trump tweeted his displeasure over the initial recommendation that Mr. Stone spend seven to nine years in prison for obstructing Congress and witness tampering, which was in line with the department’s sentencing guidelines.

The Justice Department insists that the decision to reverse course came before the president’s tweet. But senior officials did not need a tweet to conclude that the president would react angrily to a tough sentence for his longtime crony, and to act in anticipation — or fear — of the president’s predictable reaction. Continue reading.

Trump takes on Judge Amy Berman Jackson ahead of Roger Stone’s sentencing

Washington Post logoFirst he went after the prosecutors who recommended a multiyear sentence for his friend Roger Stone. Then President Trump turned his Twitter ire to the “witch hunt disgrace” of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, which led to Stone’s indictment. But perhaps most surprising was Trump’s decision to target U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson — who will determine Stone’s fate when he appears in her courtroom next Thursday.

It was not the first time Trump had gone after a federal judge or questioned the judiciary, but Tuesday’s attack was nevertheless vexing to current and former judges as Jackson prepares to decide whether to send the president’s friend to prison — and for how long.

“The timing is outrageous, and the notion that you’re attempting to influence a judge,” retired federal judge Nancy Gertner said. Continue reading.

Conservative judge stands up to Trump and slams AG Barr in ‘jaw-dropping opinion’

AlterNet logoDemocrats and Never Trump conservatives have been highly critical of U.S. Attorney General William Barr as well as Republicans in Congress for becoming loyal servants of President Donald Trump and doing his bidding at every turn. But law professor and former federal prosecutor Kimberly Wehle, in a February 12 op-ed for Politico, asserts that there is one conservative in the judiciary who clearly doesn’t consider himself a Trump servant: Judge Frank H. Easterbrook of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Wehle opens her op-ed by lamenting that it was painfully evident how much Trump has “defanged Congress’ oversight authority” when “the Senate acquitted the president of obstruction” during his impeachment trial. But Easterbrook, Wehle quickly adds, is “one conservative judge isn’t willing to let the executive branch steal power from his branch of government.”

n a “jaw-dropping opinion issued by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,” Wehle asserts, Easterbrook “rebuked Attorney General William Barr for declaring in a letter that the court’s decision in an immigration case was ‘incorrect’ and thus, dispensable.”  Continue reading.

Political interference? Republicans say there’s a judge for that

Trump’s tweets about judge in Roger Stone case draw rebuke, but some Republicans downplay their effect

 

Corrected 9:06 p.m. | Senate Republicans left it to a federal judge Wednesday to sweep away questions of improper political influence by the White House in the criminal case against Roger Stone — even as President Donald Trump tried to cast doubt on fairness ahead of his longtime adviser’s sentencing.

Trump used his Twitter megaphone to highlight U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson and her previous actions in other cases, part of a remarkable series of presidential tweets related to Stone’s case.

First, Trump tweeted that a sentencing recommendation of seven to nine years in prison for Stone was “unfair.” The Justice Department then took the rare step of intervening to rescind that sentencing recommendation. Four career prosecutors resigned from the case in protest. Trump then tweeted congratulations to Attorney General William Barr for “taking charge” of the case. Continue reading.

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.

‘You’re stonewalling about stonewalling!’ Democratic senator tears into Treasury Secretary Mnuchin over his protection of Trump

AlterNet logoDemocratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon grilled Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday in a public hearing about how his department has treated requests differently when they’ve come from Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

“One request is backed up by clear, statutory language in tax code section 6103 requiring the ‘shall provide’ tax documents to the committee,” Wyden said, referring to the congressional Democrats’ efforts to obtain President Donald Trump’s tax returns. “The other request doesn’t have the same legal basis, and certainly, to me, it looks political,” he continued, referring to Republicans’ efforts to obtain financial information related to former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

“The request from the Democratic chair, with a firm legal basis, was met with nothing but legal foot-dragging.  The request that came from the Republican chairs got VIP treatment.  They got, you know, a response out the door in a flash. So it looks to me like there’s a double standard here. And that you all are tipping the scales of congressional oversight. What am I missing Mr. Secretary?” Wyden asked. Continue reading.

Lisa Murkowski admits Trump didn’t learn his lesson after reporters confront her with evidence president has gotten worse since acquittal

AlterNet logoSen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who last week voted to acquit President Donald Trump on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges, admitted to reporters on Wednesday that she’d seen no indications that the president had been chastened by his impeachment.

Per New York Times reporter Nicholas Fandos, Murkowski was asked if she’d seen any evidence that Trump had learned anything since being impeached over a scheme to shake down the Ukrainian government to get it to announce investigations into his political rivals.

“There haven’t been very strong indicators this week that he has,” Murkowski admitted. Continue reading.

Report: Erik Prince May Face Indictment For Lying To Congress In Russia Probe

While Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office has long since closed up shop, a key mysterious figure in the Russia investigation may still face charges related to the probe.

Erik Prince, an ally of President Donald Trump and the founder of the military contracting company formerly called Blackwater, is under investigation by the Justice Department for potentially lying to congressional investigators who interviewed him as part of the House of Representative’s Russia investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. That investigation is reportedly in its “late stages.”

In addition to investigating potential lies to Congress, the Justice Department is also probing whether Prince violated U.S. export laws, the report said. Continue reading.

Trump attacks federal judge, prosecutors in Twitter tirade defending Roger Stone

Washington Post logoAs the fallout from the controversy surrounding Roger Stone’s prison term continued Tuesday night, President Trump defended his longtime confidant by firing off a barrage of heated tweets attacking the federal judge and prosecutors involved in the case.

Over the course of roughly two hours, Trump cranked out six blasts about the handling of Stone’s sentencing, including one that targeted U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is presiding over the case.

He implied that Jackson harbored some broad bias, linking the Stone case to her role in the sentencing of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and her dismissal of a lawsuit against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton related to Benghazi, Libya. Continue reading.

Trump escalates campaign of retribution as Republican senators shrug

Washington Post logoPresident Trump escalated his campaign of retribution against his perceived impeachment enemies Tuesday, railing in the Oval Office about a decorated combat veteran who testified about the president’s conduct with Ukraine and suggesting the Defense Department should consider disciplining him.

“The military can handle him any way they want,” Trump said of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was ousted from his position on the National Security Council last Friday and reassigned to the Pentagon.

Asked whether he was recommending the military take disciplinary action against Vindman for his House testimony in the impeachment proceedings, Trump replied, “They’re going to certainly, I would imagine, take a look at that.” Continue reading.