Attorney General Bill Barr is continuing to face heavy criticism for his relentless support of President Donald Trump’s political agenda. Now, three dozen members of the U.S. House have banded together to introduce a resolution calling for the launch of an investigation into whether impeaching Barr would be warranted. The proposal to investigate the potential grounds for impeachment prior to formally deciding on impeachment one way or the other is similar to what unfolded at the beginning of Trump’s impeachment proceedings.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who led the resolution calling for a Barr impeachment inquiry, cited a slew of examples of Barr’s misconduct, from his concealment of key facts from the Mueller investigation to his more recent firing of New York-based U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who’d been investigating Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, among other cases. Berman’s office had also handled the case against Michael Cohen, the former Trump fixer who pleaded guilty to campaign finance law violations over the hush money scheme — in which Trump was implicated — targeting women with whom Trump had affairs.
In remarks on the floor of the House, Cohen stated, in reference to Barr:
‘He’s abused his power, he’s obstructed justice, and he’s violated the First Amendment. He’s destroyed almost every norm that existed for attorney generals and their relationship to the rule of law, the rule of law that makes America stand out as a beacon on a hill to nations all over the world — no longer, for the rule of law has been diminished by his actions.’
Today, I introduced #HRes1032, which would authorize an impeachment inquiry into Attorney General Barr. He has politicized the DOJ, undermined the rule of law, abused his power, obstructed justice & violated the first amendment. He is not fit to be Attorney General. #ImpeachBarr pic.twitter.com/nr5P2OOQFX
— Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) June 30, 2020
Cohen went on to cite examples like Barr’s team’s special treatment for Trump allies Michael Flynn and Roger Stone. Barr’s team sought to drop the criminal case against Flynn entirely, although he’d pleaded guilty to lying to authorities about his contacts with a Russian ambassador to the U.S., and Barr’s team also intervened to lower the government’s sentencing recommendation for Stone, who was found guilty of crimes relating to obstruction of justice.
In a separate statement, Cohen added:
‘The pattern here is unmistakable. Barr obstructs justice by favoring the President’s friends and political allies. He abuses his power by using the Department of Justice to harass, intimidate and attack disfavored Americans and the President’s political opponents. My oath to support and defend the Constitution compels me to confront this corruption. Congress is a co-equal branch of government and we must get to the bottom of this and hold Bill Barr accountable.’
Check out some of Twitter’s response below:
