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For Immediate Release
February, 10 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
David Vance (202) 736-5712 or dvance@commoncause.org
Common Cause Condemns Trump Meddling with DOJ Recommendations for Roger Stone Sentencing
WASHINGTON
Today, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it will alter its sentencing recommendations for convicted felon and former Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone after an overnight Tweet by President Trump urging leniency. Stone was convicted by jury of multiple felonies related to obstructing Congress' investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election - including lying to Congress and witness tampering - in an effort to protect the President and his campaign. Last Thursday DOJ recommended to the court that Stone be sentenced to 7-9 years. Last night, President Trump condemned the recommendation and this morning DOJ announced it was changing course.
Statement of Karen Hobert Flynn, President of Common Cause
"The Attorney General is and has always been the attorney for our nation--the United States--not the President's attorney. But Attorney General Barr has made clear that, first and foremost, he serves President Donald Trump's personal and political interests and not the interests of the United States. Barr has failed to faithfully execute the most basic duty of his office. This is not how justice works in the United States. The American people expect and deserve better.
"Presidents and Attorneys General cannot put their thumbs on the scales of justice for any reason - including to aid friends associates - or we cease to be a nation of laws. This latest abuse of power follows on the heels of A.G. Barr's suppression and mischaracterization of the Mueller Report and more recently of his placing severe restrictions on politically-sensitive investigations launched by U.S. Attorneys nationwide. It is hard to see the Attorney General's order insisting that every campaign-related investigation, by any U.S. Attorney, be approved by Barr's office as anything more than a prophylactic attempt to control embarrassing or damning investigations into the Trump campaign from coming to light. This is particularly troubling given that President Trump has already publicly asked foreign government to interfere on his behalf in the 2020 election and is directly implicated in 2016 crimes for which Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen has been sentenced to federal prison.
"Common Cause has previously called for the impeachment of William Barr and our position has not changed. His politicization of the Justice Department is a national disgrace. He is abusing the powers of the Justice Department to serve the President. That is not democracy, that is an impeachable offense."
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.
(202) 833-1200LATEST NEWS
FBI Names 22-Year-Old Tyler Robinson as Charlie Kirk Murder Suspect
Law enforcement sources subsequently told CNN that "the suspect in the murder of Charlie Kirk confessed to his father that he was the shooter."
Sep 12, 2025
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced on Friday that 22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson had been arrested as the suspect in the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Cox said that Robinson was apprehended after being turned in by his family after he allegedly confessed to murdering Kirk on Wednesday.
The Utah governor also elaborated on some of the engravings that were found on bullet casings that were found on the scene. One of the messages, claimed Cox, said, "Hey fascist! Catch!" while another had the words: "If you read this you are gay lmao."
US President Donald Trump was the first to assert Friday morning that law enforcement officials have apprehended a suspect in the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
During an appearance on "Fox & Friends," the president said that he believed "with a high degree of certainty" that law enforcement had the suspect in custody.
"I just heard about it five minutes before I walked in, as I'm walking in, they said, 'Looking real good,' they have the person they wanted," he said. "So you have breaking news, don't you?"
Trump: "I just heard about it five minutes before I walked in ... they have the person that they wanted. So you have breaking news, don't you eh? You always have breaking news, Ainsley. Sean's gonna be very disappointed that we're not doing it on his show." pic.twitter.com/0mBjZk0sNR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 12, 2025
Trump also said that a person who knew the suspect provided information on him to law enforcement officials that led to his arrest, although he offered no details. He said that the FBI would likely make an announcement on the suspect later on Friday.
Shortly after Trump made this announcement, law enforcement sources gave CNN some additional details that seemingly corroborated Trump's claims about having a suspect in custody.
"The suspect in the murder of Charlie Kirk confessed to his father that he was the shooter," wrote CNN's Kristen Holmes in a social media post. "His father told authorities and secured his son until they could arrive to pick him up."
While much remains unclear, several outlets—including NBC News, The Daily Beast, New York Post, and others—identified the individual in custody as a 22-year-old with the name Tyler Robinson. Many of the other details surrounding the individual's arrest could not be independently verified by Common Dreams.
In the hours after Kirk's assassination, law enforcement officials took two people into custody, only for those people to be released shortly after officials determined they had nothing to do with the killing.
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'Political Violence Is Political Cowardice,' Says Bernie Sanders
"It means that you cannot convince people of the correctness of your ideas, and you have to impose them through force."
Sep 12, 2025
In an online video address posted one day after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, Sen. Bernie Sanders offered a solemn message to the country denouncing political violence in all its forms, calling it a threat to the very foundation of democratic ideals and the freedoms upon which the nation claims it was built.
"Freedom and democracy is not about political violence. It is not about assassinating public officials. It is not about trying to intimidate people who speak out on an issue," says Sanders, who represents Vermont as an Independent. "Political violence, in fact, is political cowardice. It means that you cannot convince people of the correctness of your ideas, and you have to impose them through force."
The ability for people to speak their minds and express their political views, said Sanders, "without worrying that they might be killed, injured or humiliated" for doing so, "is the essence of what freedom is about and what democracy is about."
"You have a point of view, that’s great. I have a point of view that is different than yours, that’s great," he continued. "Let’s argue it out. We make our case to the American people at the local, state, and federal level, and we hold free elections in which the people decide what they want. That’s called freedom and democracy. And I want as many people as possible to participate in that process without fear."
The murder of Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Points USA, who was gunned down by a sniper's bullet on Wednesday during an appearance on a college campus in Utah, has rattled the political landscape over recent days. While the assailant, as of this writing, remains unidentified and potentially still at large, President Donald Trump said during a Friday morning appearance on "Fox & Friends" that a suspect was in custody, though he offered few details and suggested the information was preliminary.
In his address, Sanders said Kirk's assassination "is part of a disturbing rise in political violence that threatens to hollow out public life and make people afraid of participating" in civic life.
"From the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol, to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, to the attack on Paul Pelosi, to the attempted kidnapping of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, to the murder of Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband, to the arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, to the shooting of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson and the shooting several years ago of Rep. Steve Scalise," said Sanders, "this chilling rise in violence has targeted public figures across the political spectrum."
The murder of Charlie Kirk is part of a disturbing rise in political violence that threatens to hollow out our public life.
A free society relies on the premise that people can speak out without fear or humiliation.
No more political violence. pic.twitter.com/SR71FJkiDz
— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 11, 2025
"This is a difficult and contentious moment in American history. Democracy in our country and throughout the world is under attack," said Sanders.
While the various reasons for that deserve serious consideration and debate, he said, the bottom line is more straightforward.
"If we honestly believe in democracy, if we believe in freedom, all of us must be loud and clear," concluded Sanders: "Political violence, regardless of ideology, is not the answer and must be condemned."
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Senate GOP Approve 'Nuclear Option' to Ram Through 'Worst and Smelliest Stinkers' Nominated by Trump
"Congress is supposed to be a check on the Executive Branch, not a rubber stamp," said Sen. Alex Padilla, Democrat of California. "We won’t forget it."
Sep 12, 2025
In a move that allowed for confirmation of a bloc of 48 nominees to a variety of sub-cabinet positions across the executive branch that require Senate approval, Senate Majority Leader John Thune triggered what's been called the "nuclear option" on Thursday by lowering the threshold for passage and allowing group confirmations, an unprecedented change to chamber rules that will now hamper the minorities ability to slow or stop objectionable or unqualified candidates.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the group of nominees "historically bad," and was among those on the Democratic side to warn the move would forever change the nature of the Senate.
As NBC News explains:
The rule applies to executive branch nominees subject to two hours of Senate debate, including subcabinet picks and ambassadors. It will not affect judicial nominations. Republicans say they'll allow their own senators to object to individual nominees in any given block, but the rule will strip away the power of the minority party to do the same thing.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., initiated the process by bringing up a package of 48 Trump nominees, which under longstanding rules has been subject to the 60-vote threshold. The vote to advance them failed due to Democratic opposition. Then, Thune sought to reconsider and Republicans subsequently voted to overrule the chair, setting a precedent and establishing the new rule.
Thune had telegraphed the move for weeks, accusing Democrats of creating an "untenable situation" with historic obstruction of Trump's nominees. The vote was held up for hours Thursday as the two parties engaged in last-ditch negotiations to strike a deal to avoid a rules change.
In the end, those negotiations failed and Thune went ahead with the rule change, which passed along party lines in a 53-45 vote.
"You remember that 'nuclear option' that Republicans warned Democrats to never use because it attacked the fundamental structure of the Senate and put government at risk?" asked Democratic strategist and podcast host Max Burns. "Senate Republicans just used it."
Democratic senators denounced the move in the strongest terms, vowing to remember when political winds shift in the future.
"This 'nuclear' move," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), "allows Republicans to vote through Trump’s unqualified and unfit nominees in bunches—“en bloc”—so they can’t be held directly accountable for the worst and smelliest stinkers in the bunch."
"Republicans have permanently blown up the rules of the Senate to jam through Trump's unqualified nominees," said Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). "Congress is supposed to be a check on the Executive Branch, not a rubber stamp. We won’t forget it."
The GOP effort, said Schumer in his remarks, "was not so much about ending obstruction, as they claim. Rather, it was another act of genuflection to the executive branch... to give Donald Trump more power and to rubber-stamp whomever he wants whenever he wants them, no questions asked."
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