Following Trump’s pardon of his longtime friend Roger Stone, a man who was caught on tape threatening a witness in the federal case against him as well as the witness’s service dog, and his noises about the innocence of his friend Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty twice in court to working as an unregistered agent of a foreign government while working in the White House, it’s clear that the rule of law doesn’t mean much in the age of Trump. Now, on the long list of things that have met their end under Trump – a list that includes justice, decency, common sense, and truth – the concept of oversight can now be added.
Don't miss: Barr has pulled the U.S. Attorney for EDNY to take a role at Main Justice.
Richard Donoghue was tasked with supervising DOJ investigations involving Ukraine. His office played a major role in the investigation into Trump's inaugural committee. https://t.co/QSzblg966B
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 11, 2020
Trump has long had trouble with the concept of oversight, insisting that whistleblowers should be imprisoned and that any check on his powers is “presidential harassment,” but Attorney General William Barr has taken the idea of ending executive oversight to a whole new level. After first announcing the resignation of the SDNY prosecutor who was investigating Trump friend Rudy Giuliani, then having to retract that announcement in favor of saying he was being fired, Barr has now moved Richard Donaghue, the prosecutor from the EDNY in charge of supervising DOJ investigations involving Ukraine, to another office and replaced him with a hand-picked candidate.
According to The Daily Beast:
‘Donoghue, seen as close to Barr, was tasked with supervising all DOJ investigations involving Ukraine in February. His office also played a major role in the federal investigation into President Trump’s inaugural committee.’
Geoffrey Berman, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York forced out under intense pressure from Attorney General William Barr, will testify before the House Judiciary Committee about his ouster https://t.co/2QfBZaOG9y
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 2, 2020
The formerly ousted Berman testified in front of Congress this week, saying that he never resigned nor had any intention of resigning. Berman had conducted the investigation into Trump’s former attorney and “fixer,” Michael Cohen, Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, and had been investigating former New York City mayor-turned-Trump attorney and “fixer,” Rudy Giuliani.
Reporting from The Daily Beast says that:
‘[Berman] undertook many of the highest-profile prosecutions of the associates of President Donald Trump during his tenure, a track record that cast suspicion over the reasoning for his departure. The former federal prosecutor said a late-night Jun 19 announcement of his resignation came as a surprise to him, and he publicly quarreled with the attorney general before departing the U.S. Attorney’s office.’
Report finds Secretary Pompeo held elaborate taxpayer funded dinners for supporters, with little diplomatic purpose. THese were part of the investigation quashed when the #POTUS #Trump admin fired State Department IG Steve Linick in May. #DrainTheSwamp https://t.co/yF2nZjQEeH
— Things Trump's Done (@trumprecords) July 6, 2020
The attorney general is not the only Trump official who prefers firing officials in charge of oversight of their office when the investigation gets too close to the truth. Earlier in the year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was under investigation for multiple abuses of his office, including taxpayer-funded “Madison Dinners” for corporate donors. The man in charge of that oversight, Steve Linick, was fired by the president at the request of his secretary of state.
NBC News reports that:
‘It’s unclear whether the inspector general was also investigating the Madison Dinners, but two administration officials told NBC News that Linick made some type of inquiry to the protocol office last week, before he was fired. One of the officials said Pompeo’s office was then notified.’
President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of longtime adviser Roger Stone, who was found guilty of seeking to thwart congressional and FBI investigations into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.https://t.co/IexaASNKHw
— POLITICO (@politico) July 10, 2020
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
