More than 1,100 former Department of Justice officials have signed an online statement calling for Attorney General William Barr to resign. Barr may insist he's not working at the president's behest, but his "actions in doing the President’s personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words," reads the statement, which CNN reports was signed mostly by former prosecutors with the department who have worked under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The constitution requires the Justice Department to be impartial, to treat all Americans equally under the law, and to prosecute free of any outside influence. DOJ lawyers "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," the statement reads.
"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," the statement continues. When the department took the unheard-of step to overrule the prosecutors on the Stone case, it was clearly giving "preferential treatment" to a Trump confidant, the statement says. "Such behavior is a grave threat to the fair administration of justice," it continues. "Governments that use the enormous power of law enforcement to punish their enemies and reward their allies are not constitutional republics; they are autocracies." The statement calls on current DOJ officials to report abuses of power and be prepared to remove themselves from cases or even resign from the department if needed. (More William Barr stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
