Over 1,100 former members of the Department of Justice (DOJ) have signed an open letter asking the Attorney General (AG) William Barr to step down. Donald Trump is furious that former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe’s case was dropped. In addition, Barr went on ABC to announce that he could not do his job when the president tweets so much. Trump does not take criticism well.
An SDNY attorney removed herself from a case four months into it. She explained to the judge that the decision had been made that this case would be, according to CNN:
‘[E]xclusively by attorneys from the Department of Justice.’
US District Judge Jesse Furman, who has the case, noticed and wrote:
‘There are dozens of highly qualified lawyers and professional staff in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York — the office that normally represents the Government in this District. The Court can only speculate why the lawyers from that Office withdrew from their representation of Defendants in these cases.’
The attorney for one of Giuliani’s business associates Lev Parnas asked for Barr to Recuse himself:
‘[I]n an effort to preserve the public trust in the rule of law.’
A federal prosecutor in Southern California noted that she was “extremely concerned” by Trump interjecting himself into a pending criminal matter. Barr responded with an interview on ABC. She said:
‘It’s about time.’
Barr intervened to lighten Trump’s longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone’s case. On the West Coast, one federal prosecutor said there was an overwhelming sense of “outrage” felt in his office. Barr inserted himself with political bias into any number of cases, breaking traditions, norms, and in some instances, the law.
According to a person with information on the subject, the Department of Justice (DOJ) demanded that prosecutors:
‘[H]old news conferences, make statements and use social media to promote Barr’s initiative to crack down on “sanctuary cities.”‘
Even after the DOJ took back the request, it was not before a minimum of two US attorneys wrote op-eds. The DOJ also told federal prosecutors:
‘[W[rite op-eds to push for passage of pending legislation on fentanyl. More than a dozen US attorneys complied with publishing op-eds or written statements.’
The attorney general also “personally spearheaded” negotiating a settlement with a Turkish bank so that it would avoid an indictment. The president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaned on the US president for this outcome. Berman resisted and insisted on “criminal prosecution.
Last year, POTUS said he would consider Erdogan’s strong request to expel a Turkish cleric. This even though the clerk has become a permanent US resident living in Pennsylvania.
An exiled Turkish novelist Asli Erdogan thought she would have been convicted with a life sentence. Her books have been translated into 21 languages. Yet she was jailed for four months in 2016 on trumped-up charges, according to CNA:
‘To be honest, I was very surprised. Almost everyone took it for granted that I would be convicted. I still cannot believe it, but if it’s not that, there will be another case.’
She added “silence prevails in Turkey:”
‘For the author, the political climate is worsening even though she can no longer gauge the mood for herself as she could before. I used to speak with grocers or witness chats in a bus or metro. That was feeding me as a writer but this channel had been cut now. But I have the impression that silence prevails in Turkey.’
The author described the government system as:
‘[F]ascism, neo-fascism well beyond dictatorship. I don’t know for sure what happens behind closed doors but such irrational cases have no other explanation. I see them as part of a strategy.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
