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When was the last time that a Dept of Justice Attorney General faced this kind of vote — a vote of lack of confidence — in the AG’s ability to fairly lead?
When was last time that a DOJ AG faced such a bi-partisan call for his Resignation — for his failure to “ensure equal justice under the law”?
Such is yet another serious warning signal of the era of Trump demolition, in which we live …
by Luke Barr, ABC News — February 17, 2020
More than 2,000 former Department of Justice officials are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign, according to the group Protect Democracy.
"Political interference in the conduct of a criminal prosecution is anathema to the Department's core mission and to its sacred obligation to ensure equal justice under the law," according to the group, which has been critical of the administration in the past.
The nonpartisan, nonprofit group said that the attorney general has "flouted" that fundamental principal.
The former DOJ officials said it is "outrageous" the way Barr interfered in the Roger Stone case.
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The group claims that Barr has done the president's bidding and that those actions have caused damage to the Department of Justice. The letter was signed by officials appointed from both Democrat and Republican administrations, according to Protect Democracy.
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From their statement of “condemnation” of Bill Barr itself, these DOJ alumni “throw the book at” both Barr and Trump — that would be The Justice Manual of the DOJ, which Barr and Trump “have openly and repeatedly flouted” ...
We, the undersigned, are alumni of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) who have collectively served both Republican and Democratic administrations. Each of us strongly condemns President Trump’s and Attorney General Barr’s interference in the fair administration of justice.
As former DOJ officials, we each proudly took an oath to support and defend our Constitution and faithfully execute the duties of our offices. The very first of these duties is to apply the law equally to all Americans. This obligation flows directly from the Constitution, and it is embedded in countless rules and laws governing the conduct of DOJ lawyers. The Justice Manual — the DOJ’s rulebook for its lawyers — states that “the rule of law depends on the evenhanded administration of justice”; that the Department’s legal decisions “must be impartial and insulated from political influence”; and that the Department’s prosecutorial powers, in particular, must be “exercised free from partisan consideration.”
All DOJ lawyers are well-versed in these rules, regulations, and constitutional commands. They stand for the proposition that political interference in the conduct of a criminal prosecution is anathema to the Department’s core mission and to its sacred obligation to ensure equal justice under the law.
And yet, President Trump and Attorney General Barr have openly and repeatedly flouted this fundamental principle, most recently in connection with the sentencing of President Trump’s close associate, Roger Stone, who was convicted of serious crimes. The Department has a long-standing practice in which political appointees set broad policies that line prosecutors apply to individual cases. That practice exists to animate the constitutional principles regarding the even-handed application of the law. [...]
DOJ Alumni Statement — Feb 16, 2020
Let’s not let this bold statement on principle, get buried by the sands of chaos, brought anew by each news cycle, in this new age of 24/7 outrage.
Nothing less than the rule of law and the American Constitution hangs in the balance — at the end of the day. After all the outrage is spent and dissipated …
The application of equal Justice is supposed to be blind.
Such are the days of our lives … hanging in the balance.