Tag: Trump Justice Department

William Barr officially becomes Trump’s personal attorney — with the power of the US Department of Justice behind him

AlterNet logoOn Tuesday, Donald Trump tweeted that the sentencing recommendations for his longtime associate Roger Stone were unfair. Stone, who was convicted in federal court on seven counts, including lying to Congress and obstruction, including death threats against a judge and threats to murder a witness’ dog, could have received 20 years in prison or more. The recommended sentence of seven to nine years was solidly in the middle of the possible range and was made by a quartet of veteran prosecutors.

But rather than ignoring Trump’s tweet, within hours Attorney General William Barr had instructed the Department of Justice to take an appallingly unprecedented move. The DOJ announced that it was overruling the action of the U.S. attorneys in order to reduce Stone’s suggested sentence—even as Trump threatened to pardon his henchman altogether. It was a moment when American justice teetered on the edge.

Then, overnight, it fell over completely. And the attorney general of the United States officially became Trump’s personal attorney. 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 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.

Lindsey Graham says DOJ is handling information from Giuliani on Bidens

Washington Post logoSen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that the Justice Department is vetting information that President Trump’s personal attorney has delivered regarding Hunter Biden’s work on the board of a Ukrainian energy company.

Graham, citing an early-morning conversation with Attorney General William P. Barr, said that Rudolph W. Giuliani is giving his information to national security experts and that he would back off his own plans to use the Senate Judiciary Committee as a vehicle to investigate the Biden family.

“The Department of Justice is receiving information coming out of the Ukraine from Rudy to see — he told me that they have created a process that Rudy could give information and they would see if it’s verified,” Graham, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Continue reading.

DOJ: Congress must meet high bar for Trump tax information

Cases set for March 31 oral argument

The Justice Department on Monday night backed President Donald Trump in the Supreme Court fight over congressional subpoenas for his financial documents, telling the justices that lawmakers must meet a higher bar when seeking a sitting president’s personal records.

The cases, set for March 31 oral argument, center on subpoenas from three House committees to accounting firm Mazars USA, Deutsche Bank and Capital One Financial Corp. House Democrats are seeking eight years of Trump’s financial and tax records.

Trump filed lawsuits to challenge the subpoenas in his personal capacity, and a Supreme Court decision expected by the end of the term at the end of June could reshape the limits for impeachment and other oversight investigations into a sitting president. Continue reading.

Justice Dept. Investigating Years-Old Leaks and Appears Focused on Comey

New York Times logoAn inquiry into years-old disclosures of classified information is highly unusual and leaves law enforcement officials open to accusations of politicizing their work.

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors in Washington are investigating a years-old leak of classified information about a Russian intelligence document, and they appear to be focusing on whether the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey illegally provided details to reporters, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

The case is the second time the Justice Department has investigated leaks potentially involving Mr. Comey, a frequent target of President Trump, who has repeatedly called him a “leaker.” Mr. Trump recently suggested without evidence that Mr. Comey should be prosecuted for “unlawful conduct” and spend years in prison.

The timing of the investigation could raise questions about whether it was motivated at least in part by politics. Prosecutors and F.B.I. agents typically investigate leaks of classified information around the time they appear in the news media, not years later. And the inquiry is the latest politically sensitive matter undertaken by the United States attorney’s office in Washington, which is also conducting an investigation of Mr. Comey’s former deputy, Andrew G. McCabe, that has been plagued by problems. Continue reading.