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For Immediate Release
February, 11 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Diane Alexander, Democracy 21—202-355-9600 or dalexander@democracy21.org.
Democracy 21 Calls for House and DOJ Investigations of Unfit to Serve AG Barr, Documents Barr's Repeated Abuses of Office
WASHINGTON
In an apparently unprecedented act, the sentencing recommendation submitted by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the case of Roger Stone was withdrawn and changed by the Justice Department.
According to a report by NBC News, this withdrawal and resubmission occurred after President Trump attacked the original Stone sentencing recommendation and Attorney General William Barr took control of the Stone case. The report says that Barr has also been taking control of other legal matters of interest to President Trump.
"Attorney General Barr is politicizing the Justice Department in plain sight. Barr is dangerously SP undermining the Department's independence, integrity and credibility by engaging in multiple abuses of office," Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer said.
On January 17, 2020, Democracy 21 filed a complaint with DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) against Attorney General Barr that documented Barr's pattern of biased actions in favor of President Trump and the Attorney General's repeated failures to comply with Justice Department norms, rules and standards of conduct. The complaint requested OPR to investigate and take appropriate action regarding Barr's improprieties.
See the Democracy 21 complaint here and a Wertheimer article published by Just Security entitled "William Barr: A Failed Attorney General Unfit to Serve" here.
"The House of Representatives should begin an investigation and hearings promptly into Attorney General Barr's repeated abuses of his office, starting with the reported interventions in the Roger Stone and Michael Flynn convictions," according to Wertheimer.
The stated core mission of the Justice Department is "to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans."
"Attorney General Barr has repeatedly compromised and publicly undermined the Justice Department's mission. Barr is misusing the Justice Department to serve President Trump's political interests and personal desires at enormous costs to the Department, to the public servants who work there and to the American people. Barr is unfit to serve as Attorney General and the sooner Barr leaves office, the better off our country will be," Wertheimer said.
Democracy 21 is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to making democracy work for all Americans. Democracy 21, and its education arm, Democracy 21 Education Fund, work to eliminate the undue influence of big money in American politics, prevent government corruption, empower citizens in the political process and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections. The organization promotes campaign finance reform and other related political reforms to accomplish these goals.
(202) 355-9600LATEST NEWS
'Get the Oil Flowing': Trump's Own Words Make His War Aims in Venezuela Clear
"They have spoken openly about controlling Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world," said US Sen. Bernie Sanders. "It recalls the darkest chapters of US interventions in Latin America."
Jan 04, 2026
US President Donald Trump left no doubt on Saturday that a—or perhaps the—primary driver of his decision to illegally attack Venezuela, abduct its president, and pledge to indefinitely run its government was his desire to control and exploit the country's oil reserves, which are believed to be the largest in the world.
Over the course of Trump's lengthy press conference following Saturday's assault, the word "oil" was mentioned dozens of times as the president vowed to unleash powerful fossil fuel giants on the South American nation and begin "taking a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground"—with a healthy cut of it going to the US "in the form of reimbursement" for the supposed "damages caused us" by Venezuela.
"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, and start making money for the country," Trump said. "We're going to get the oil flowing the way it should be."
Currently, Chevron is the only US-based oil giant operating in Venezuela, whose oil industry and broader economy have been badly hampered by US sanctions. In a statement on Saturday, a Chevron spokesperson said the company is "prepared to work constructively with the US government during this period, leveraging our experience and presence to strengthen US energy security."
Other oil behemoths, some of which helped bankroll Trump's presidential campaign, are likely licking their chops—even if they've been mostly quiet in the wake of the US attack, which was widely condemned as unlawful and potentially catastrophic for the region. Amnesty International said Saturday that "the stated US intention to run Venezuela and control its oil resources" likely "constitutes a violation of international law."
"The most powerful multinational fossil fuel corporations stand to benefit from these aggressions, and US oil and gas companies are poised to exploit the chaos."
Thomas O'Donnell, an energy and geopolitical strategist, told Reuters that "the company that probably will be very interested in going back [to Venezuela] is Conoco," noting that an international arbitration tribunal has ordered Caracas to pay the company around $10 billion for alleged "unlawful expropriation" of oil investments.
The Houston Chronicle reported that "Exxon, America’s largest oil company, which has for years grown its presence in South America, would be among the most likely US oil companies to tap Venezuela’s deep oil reserves. The company, along with fellow Houston giant ConocoPhillips, had a number of failed contract attempts with Venezuela under Maduro and former President Hugo Chavez."
Elizabeth Bast, executive director of the advocacy group Oil Change International, said in a statement Saturday that the Trump administration's escalation in Venezuela "follows a historic playbook: undermine leftist governments, create instability, and clear the path for extractive companies to profit."
"The most powerful multinational fossil fuel corporations stand to benefit from these aggressions, and US oil and gas companies are poised to exploit the chaos and carve up one of the world's most oil-rich territories," said Bast. "The US must stop treating Latin America as a resource colony. The Venezuelan people, not US oil executives, must shape their country’s future."
US Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said that the president's own words make plain that his attack on Venezuela and attempt to impose his will there are "about trying to grab Venezuela's oil for Trump's billionaire buddies."
In a statement, US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) echoed that sentiment, calling Trump's assault on Venezuela "rank imperialism."
"They have spoken openly about controlling Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world," said Sanders. "It recalls the darkest chapters of US interventions in Latin America, which have left a terrible legacy. It will and should be condemned by the democratic world."
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Defying Trump, Venezuela VP Says 'We Will Never Again Be a Colony of Any Empire'
“What is being done to Venezuela is barbaric," said Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the role of interim president following the US abduction of Nicolás Maduro.
Jan 04, 2026
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the role of interim president following the US abduction of Nicolás Maduro, said in a televised address Saturday that "we will never again be a colony of any empire," defying the Trump administration's plan to indefinitely control Venezuela's government and exploit its vast oil reserves.
“We are determined to be free,” declared Rodríguez, who demanded that the US release Maduro from custody and said he is still Venezuela's president.
“What is being done to Venezuela is barbaric," she added.
Rodríguez's defiant remarks came after US President Donald Trump claimed he is "designating various people" to run Venezuela's government, suggested American troops could be deployed, and threatened a "second wave" of attacks on the country if its political officials don't bow to the Trump administration's demands.
Trump also threatened "all political and military figures in Venezuela," warning that "what happened to Maduro can happen to them." Maduro is currently detained in Brooklyn and facing fresh US charges.
Rodríguez's public remarks contradicted the US president's claim that she privately pledged compliance with the Trump administration's attempts to control Venezuela's political system and oil infrastructure. The interim president delivered her remarks alongside top Venezuelan officials, including legislative and judicial leaders, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, a projection of unity in the face of US aggression.
"Doesn’t feel like a nation that is ready to let Donald Trump and Marco Rubio 'run it,'" said US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who condemned the Trump administration for "starting an illegal war with Venezuela that Americans didn’t ask for and has nothing to do with our security."
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After Venezuela Assault, Trump and Rubio Warn Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia Could Be Next
"The 'Trump corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine—applied in recent hours with violent force over the skies of Caracas—is the single greatest threat to peace and prosperity that the Americas confront today," said Progressive International.
Jan 03, 2026
US President Donald Trump and top administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, characterized Saturday's assault on Venezuela and abduction of the country's president as a warning shot in the direction of Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin American nations.
During a Saturday press conference, Trump openly invoked the Monroe Doctrine—an assertion of US dominance of the Western Hemisphere—and said his campaign of aggression against Venezuela represented the "Donroe Doctrine" in action.
In his unwieldy remarks, Trump called out Colombian President Gustavo Petro by name, accusing him without evidence of "making cocaine and sending it to the United States."
"So he does have to watch his ass," the US president said of Petro, who condemned the Trump administration's Saturday attack on Venezuela as "aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America."
Petro responded defiantly to the possibility of the US targeting him, writing on social media that he is "not worried at all."
In a Fox News appearance earlier Saturday, Trump also took aim at the United States' southern neighbor, declaring ominously that "something's going to have to be done with Mexico," which also denounced the attack on Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolás Maduro.
"She is very frightened of the cartels," Trump said of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. "So we have to do something."
"This armed attack on Venezuela is not an isolated event. It is the next step in the United States' campaign of regime change that stretches from Caracas to Havana."
Rubio, for his part, focused on Cuba—a country whose government he has long sought to topple.
"If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned, at least a little bit," Rubio, who was born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents, said during Saturday's press conference.
That the Trump administration wasted no time threatening other nations as it pledged to control Venezuela indefinitely sparked grave warnings, with the leadership of Progressive International cautioning that "this armed attack on Venezuela is not an isolated event."
"It is the next step in the United States' campaign of regime change that stretches from Caracas to Havana—and an attack on the very principle of sovereign equality and the prospects for the Zone of Peace once established by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States," the coalition said in a statement. "This renewed declaration of impunity from Washington is a threat to all nations around the world."
"Trump has clearly articulated the imperial logic of this intervention—to seize control over Venezuela's natural resources and reassert US domination over the hemisphere," said Progressive International. "The 'Trump corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine—applied in recent hours with violent force over the skies of Caracas—is the single greatest threat to peace and prosperity that the Americas confront today."
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