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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIf William Barr Truly Believed in Rule of Law, He Would Resign
If William Barr Truly Believed in Rule of Law, He Would Resign
By Joyce White Vance February 16, 2020
Vance is distinguished professor of the practice of law at the University of Alabama, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and an NBC News and MSNBC legal analyst.
Nothing could be more destructive of our system of government, of the rule of law, or Department of Justice as an institution, than any toleration of political interference with the enforcement of the law. Those were William Barrs words at both his 1991 and 2019 confirmation hearings, the words of someone who claimed to respect the Justice Department and its mission.
Barrs commitment at his most recent confirmation hearing, reaffirming that an Attorney General must prevent political influence from corrupting the course of justice in criminal cases, was important to legitimate his candidacy to lead the department, given the concerns that arose after his nomination. But he has proven himself unable or unwilling to live up to that commitment.
Since he joined the Administration just over a year ago, Barr has operated in a manner that has raised serious questions about whether he is working to benefit the President or the people. He misrepresented the conclusions of the Mueller report. On his watch, DOJ tried to protect the President from legitimate constitutional oversight by withholding the Ukraine whistleblower complaint from Congress. DOJ then summarily declined to open an investigation into the Ukraine complaint and defended Trumps position that executive branch emails related to Ukraine did not have to be turned over to a media organization that sought unredacted versions, using the same privilege arguments Trump asserted to withhold them from Congress. Although the Department has responded to past questions about Barrs personal involvement by saying he was aware but did not participate in decision-making, we know from his takeover of Roger Stones sentencing that he is fully capable of usurping a case when he does not like how it is being handled. He has also assigned a handpicked U.S. Attorney appointed by Trump to review matters the President has shown interest in. ...................(more)
https://time.com/5784932/william-barr-resign-rule-of-law/
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If William Barr Truly Believed in Rule of Law, He Would Resign (Original Post)
marmar
Feb 2020
OP
riversedge
(70,253 posts)1. Watch what they do, not what they say. ...........
Turbineguy
(37,355 posts)2. He has the Trump Virus.
malaise
(269,087 posts)3. But we all know he doesn't
He will have to be forced out
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)5. He won't . . . .
There is your answer.
Nikki28
(557 posts)6. there needs
to be protesters in droves in front of the Justice dept. to demand he leaves as well as the Senate Repukes.If he was decent, he would leave today,but doubt he will because he is driving this one world order to have Trump as king
spanone
(135,849 posts)7. trump is rage tweeting this a.m. about the stone trial...has Barr resigned yet?
it was all theater....nothing more
Happy Hoosier
(7,336 posts)8. The problem is....
Barr believes the law allows everything Trump is doing. Not only does he believe the President has absolute control over the executive branch, but he believes the President has almost no limits on what he can do. The only check is Congress. And if Congress refuses to hold the President accountable...
CanonRay
(14,106 posts)9. He doesn't, and he won't
dalton99a
(81,529 posts)10. He won't. He must be impeached.
The reality is Barr will get a Medal of Freedom before the year is out
MurrayDelph
(5,299 posts)11. If Barr truly believed in the rule of law
he would never have gotten the job.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,356 posts)13. He doesn't believe in it. He believes in autocracy by his team.