December, 16 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Common Cause Calls for Impeachment of Attorney General William Barr
WASHINGTON
Today, Common Cause called on the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach and the Senate to convict and remove Attorney General William Barr from office for obstruction of Congress, abuse of power and failing to faithfully execute his office. In a letter to every Member of Congress, Common Cause emphasized that Barr, despite serving as the nation's top law enforcement official, has violated his oath of office and put the interests of President Donald Trump before the interests of the nation.
"Attorney General Barr has politicized the Department of Justice and undermined trust in the law by prioritizing and acting in the interests of a president who has committed impeachable offenses, rather than upholding the law and the Constitution. Attorney General Barr has repeatedly violated his oath to the people he swore to protect and must be impeached and removed from office," said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause. "The American people deserve an Attorney General committed to upholding the Constitution and applying the law without fear or favor. The Attorney General has repeatedly proven unwilling to put the interests of the nation before those of the man who appointed him and he must be removed from office before he does more harm to the nation."
The letter details a number of the more serious abuses of the office of Attorney General by William Barr. Most recently Barr ignored the evidence and conclusions of the Justice Department Inspector General's report finding the FBI properly launched an investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Previously the Attorney General mischaracterized and undermined the work and conclusions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian election interference and obstruction of justice - intentionally delaying the release of the actual report in order to release his own "summary" to undercut the Special Counsel's findings.
The letter also details Barr's actions to facilitate the Trump Administration's unlawful withholding of the Ukraine whistleblower complaint from Congress on the basis of his Office of Legal Counsel's severely flawed reasoning--reasoning sharply criticized by the DOJ's own Inspector General and dozens of other federal agency inspectors general. Further the letter outlines the Attorney General's obstruction of the congressional investigations into the Trump Administration's attempt to insert a citizenship question into the 2020 Census by continuing to defy lawfully-issued Congressional subpoenas.
"Attorney General Barr is blatantly abusing the considerable powers of his office and undermining the rule of law in this nation and he must be removed from office," Paul S. Ryan, Common Cause vice president for policy and litigation. "William Barr's abuse of power is unprecedented for an Attorney General of the United States and cannot be tolerated in a democracy. Congress must move swiftly to impeach and remove William Barr from office."
To read the letter, click here.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
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A trio of U.S. senators on Friday introduced what's being billed as first-of-its-kind legislation sponsors say will "take on the greed of the food and beverage industry and address the growing diabetes and obesity epidemics" with a federal ban on junk food ads targeting children.
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Booker said that "the future of our nation depends on a continued investment in the health and wellbeing of our children," adding that "more and more of our children are developing diabetes and obesity primarily because a handful of corporate food giants push addictive, ultra-processed foods to drive up their profits."
"By banning junk food advertising to children, implementing front-of-package warning labels, and funding research on the dangers of ultra-processed foods, we can rein in the predatory behavior of big food companies and ensure a healthier future for generations to come," he added.
As the senators noted:
Today, more than 35 million Americans are struggling with type 2 diabetes—90% of whom are overweight or obese. These crises go hand-in-hand and children are severely impacted. Today, 1 out of 5 five kids are living with obesity. A serious illness unto itself, diabetes is also a contributing factor to heart disease, stroke, amputations, blindness, and kidney failure. Unless the U.S. dramatically changes course, these numbers will continue to grow exponentially.
The impact on the economy is enormous: Last year, the total cost of diabetes exceeded $400 billion, approximately 10% of overall U.S. healthcare expenditures.
Meanwhile, the U.S. food and beverage industry spends about $14 billion annually on marketing unhealthy products, with $2 billion of that spent on advertising these products to children.
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"This is the reality that extreme Republicans call 'pro-life.'"
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According to Seitz:
Emergency rooms are subject to hefty fines when they turn away patients, fail to stabilize them, or transfer them to another hospital for treatment. Violations can also put hospitals' Medicare funding at risk.
But it's unclear what fines might be imposed on more than a dozen hospitals that the Biden administration says failed to properly treat pregnant patients in 2022.
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Responding to the reporting on social media, journalist Jane Mayer declared, "This is barbaric."
Texas Poor People's Campaign said that women in the state "are being left to die in ER waiting rooms. We cannot let this policy violence against women continue. Please join us as we mobilize voters for the '24 election."
Going into November, abortion has been a key issue at the state and federal level. Supporters of reproductive freedom are working to advance various ballot measures while Democratic President Joe Biden's campaign has highlighted his support for abortion rights and the presumptive Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, has bragged about his role in reversing Roe—he appointed three of the six justices behind the majority opinion.
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Slate's Mark Joseph Stern, who covers U.S. legal battles, noted that this "devastating and timely story" from Seitz comes "just days before the Supreme Court considers whether emergency rooms can legally force patients to the brink of death before terminating a failing pregnancy."
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