SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Attorney General William Barr chooses not to speak as President Donald Trump participates in a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday, October 8, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Warnings DOJ Has Become 'Vehicle for President Trump's Political Revenge' as Barr Opens Criminal Probe of Mueller Investigation
"It was bad enough Trump and Barr were wasting resources on this. But now they are fully weaponizing DOJ for political purposes."
Oct 25, 2019
Raising fresh concerns that President Donald Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department for his own political and personal gain, Attorney General William Barr's "administrative review" of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe--which resulted in the conviction of a number of Trump associates--has reportedly become a criminal investigation.
The New York Times, citing two anonymous individuals familar with the matter, reported late Thursday that the shift from an administrative review to a criminal probe "gives the prosecutor running it, John H. Durham, the power to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to convene a grand jury and to file criminal charges."
"Mr. Barr, recall that Attorney General John Mitchell spent 19 months in prison for his role in the Watergate conspiracy. Be prepared to meet the same or worse fate."
--Robert Reich
"It was not clear what potential crime Mr. Durham is investigating, nor when the criminal investigation was prompted," according to the Times. Barr appointed Durham in May to investigate the "origins" of the Russia probe.
Lawmakers and legal experts reacted with alarm to the Times report, which was confirmed by other outlets and comes amid an intensifying impeachment inquiry into Trump over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.
"These reports, if true, raise profound new concerns that the Department of Justice under AG Barr has lost its independence and become a vehicle for President Trump's political revenge," tweeted Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. "If the Department of Justice may be used as a tool of political retribution, or to help the president with a political narrative for the next election, the rule of law will suffer new and irreparable damage."
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said "it was bad enough Trump and Barr were wasting resources on this."
"But now they are fully weaponizing DOJ for political purposes," Honig added. "Attorneys general can be impeached."
\u201cIt was bad enough Trump and Barr were wasting resources on this. But now they are fully weaponizing DOJ for political purposes. \n\nAttorneys General *can* be impeached. https://t.co/Pm2sJaXjRw\u201d— Elie Honig (@Elie Honig) 1571963270
In an interview on CNN Thursday night, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said Barr is "absolutely" acting as Trump's personal lawyer rather than attorney general of the United States in his investigation of the Mueller inquiry.
"It is deeply troubling what Bill Barr is doing," Lieu said.
\u201c"It is deeply troubling what Bill Barr is doing," says Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, reacting to a report that Attorney General William Barr's probe into the intelligence and origins of the 2016 Trump-Russia investigation is now a criminal investigation https://t.co/xp8QikT8wz\u201d— CNN Tonight (@CNN Tonight) 1571974074
As Common Dreams reported earlier this month, Barr has held talks with foreign intelligence officials in Italy and the United Kingdom to request assistance in his probe of the Mueller investigation--news that prompted calls for House Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings against the attorney general.
In response to Thursday's reports, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich tweeted, "Mr. Barr, recall that Attorney General John Mitchell spent 19 months in prison for his role in the Watergate conspiracy."
"Be prepared to meet the same or worse fate," Reich wrote.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Raising fresh concerns that President Donald Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department for his own political and personal gain, Attorney General William Barr's "administrative review" of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe--which resulted in the conviction of a number of Trump associates--has reportedly become a criminal investigation.
The New York Times, citing two anonymous individuals familar with the matter, reported late Thursday that the shift from an administrative review to a criminal probe "gives the prosecutor running it, John H. Durham, the power to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to convene a grand jury and to file criminal charges."
"Mr. Barr, recall that Attorney General John Mitchell spent 19 months in prison for his role in the Watergate conspiracy. Be prepared to meet the same or worse fate."
--Robert Reich
"It was not clear what potential crime Mr. Durham is investigating, nor when the criminal investigation was prompted," according to the Times. Barr appointed Durham in May to investigate the "origins" of the Russia probe.
Lawmakers and legal experts reacted with alarm to the Times report, which was confirmed by other outlets and comes amid an intensifying impeachment inquiry into Trump over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.
"These reports, if true, raise profound new concerns that the Department of Justice under AG Barr has lost its independence and become a vehicle for President Trump's political revenge," tweeted Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. "If the Department of Justice may be used as a tool of political retribution, or to help the president with a political narrative for the next election, the rule of law will suffer new and irreparable damage."
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said "it was bad enough Trump and Barr were wasting resources on this."
"But now they are fully weaponizing DOJ for political purposes," Honig added. "Attorneys general can be impeached."
\u201cIt was bad enough Trump and Barr were wasting resources on this. But now they are fully weaponizing DOJ for political purposes. \n\nAttorneys General *can* be impeached. https://t.co/Pm2sJaXjRw\u201d— Elie Honig (@Elie Honig) 1571963270
In an interview on CNN Thursday night, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said Barr is "absolutely" acting as Trump's personal lawyer rather than attorney general of the United States in his investigation of the Mueller inquiry.
"It is deeply troubling what Bill Barr is doing," Lieu said.
\u201c"It is deeply troubling what Bill Barr is doing," says Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, reacting to a report that Attorney General William Barr's probe into the intelligence and origins of the 2016 Trump-Russia investigation is now a criminal investigation https://t.co/xp8QikT8wz\u201d— CNN Tonight (@CNN Tonight) 1571974074
As Common Dreams reported earlier this month, Barr has held talks with foreign intelligence officials in Italy and the United Kingdom to request assistance in his probe of the Mueller investigation--news that prompted calls for House Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings against the attorney general.
In response to Thursday's reports, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich tweeted, "Mr. Barr, recall that Attorney General John Mitchell spent 19 months in prison for his role in the Watergate conspiracy."
"Be prepared to meet the same or worse fate," Reich wrote.
Raising fresh concerns that President Donald Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department for his own political and personal gain, Attorney General William Barr's "administrative review" of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe--which resulted in the conviction of a number of Trump associates--has reportedly become a criminal investigation.
The New York Times, citing two anonymous individuals familar with the matter, reported late Thursday that the shift from an administrative review to a criminal probe "gives the prosecutor running it, John H. Durham, the power to subpoena for witness testimony and documents, to convene a grand jury and to file criminal charges."
"Mr. Barr, recall that Attorney General John Mitchell spent 19 months in prison for his role in the Watergate conspiracy. Be prepared to meet the same or worse fate."
--Robert Reich
"It was not clear what potential crime Mr. Durham is investigating, nor when the criminal investigation was prompted," according to the Times. Barr appointed Durham in May to investigate the "origins" of the Russia probe.
Lawmakers and legal experts reacted with alarm to the Times report, which was confirmed by other outlets and comes amid an intensifying impeachment inquiry into Trump over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden.
"These reports, if true, raise profound new concerns that the Department of Justice under AG Barr has lost its independence and become a vehicle for President Trump's political revenge," tweeted Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. "If the Department of Justice may be used as a tool of political retribution, or to help the president with a political narrative for the next election, the rule of law will suffer new and irreparable damage."
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said "it was bad enough Trump and Barr were wasting resources on this."
"But now they are fully weaponizing DOJ for political purposes," Honig added. "Attorneys general can be impeached."
\u201cIt was bad enough Trump and Barr were wasting resources on this. But now they are fully weaponizing DOJ for political purposes. \n\nAttorneys General *can* be impeached. https://t.co/Pm2sJaXjRw\u201d— Elie Honig (@Elie Honig) 1571963270
In an interview on CNN Thursday night, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said Barr is "absolutely" acting as Trump's personal lawyer rather than attorney general of the United States in his investigation of the Mueller inquiry.
"It is deeply troubling what Bill Barr is doing," Lieu said.
\u201c"It is deeply troubling what Bill Barr is doing," says Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, reacting to a report that Attorney General William Barr's probe into the intelligence and origins of the 2016 Trump-Russia investigation is now a criminal investigation https://t.co/xp8QikT8wz\u201d— CNN Tonight (@CNN Tonight) 1571974074
As Common Dreams reported earlier this month, Barr has held talks with foreign intelligence officials in Italy and the United Kingdom to request assistance in his probe of the Mueller investigation--news that prompted calls for House Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings against the attorney general.
In response to Thursday's reports, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich tweeted, "Mr. Barr, recall that Attorney General John Mitchell spent 19 months in prison for his role in the Watergate conspiracy."
"Be prepared to meet the same or worse fate," Reich wrote.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.