Trump won't heed Barr's words

Unbowed by a public rebuke from his attorney general, President Donald Trump says has the “right” to intervene in criminal cases and sidestep the Justice Department’s historic independence. Concurrently, it had been revealed federal prosecutors have been ordered to review the criminal case of his former national security adviser.

A day after Attorney General William Barr said the president’s tweets were which makes it “impossible for me to accomplish my job,” Trump declared he previously the right to ask the agency to intervene in cases but up to now has “chosen never to.” It had been a rare public flare-up of tensions, simmering for weeks at the upper echelon of the Trump administration, as Barr marked twelve months face to face Friday.

While Barr complained that Trump’s tweets undermine the department’s perception as independent from political interference, he has confirmed to be wanting to deliver on many of the president’s investigative priorities - often organized by Trump for all to see on Twitter.

The lawyer general stepped in this week to improve the sentencing recommendation that Trump had denounced as too harsh for his ally Roger Stone. Also, Justice Department prosecutors are reviewing the handling of the federal investigation into Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, a person acquainted with the problem told The Associated Press on Friday. And Barr has appointed a U.S. legal professional who's conducting a criminal investigation in to the origins of the FBI’s probe of the 2016 election that morphed into special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible Trump-Russia cooperation.

Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during its probe of ties between your Trump campaign and Russia, but his sentencing has been postponed many times after he complained he was misled during his questioning. The U.S. legal professional in St. Louis, Jeff Jensen, is working with Brandon Van Grack, an associate of Mueller’s team, to review the Flynn case, a Justice Department official said.

As president, Trump technically gets the to compel the Justice Department, an executive branch agency, to launch investigations. But historically, when it comes to decisions on criminal investigations and prosecutions, Justice has functioned independently, unmoved and unbound by political sway. And that reputation is vital that you Barr, as he made clear in an interview Thursday on ABC News.

“I’m pleased to say that, actually, the president hasn't asked me to accomplish anything in a criminal case,” Barr said. “However, to have public statements and tweets made about the department, about our people ... about cases pending in the department, and about judges before whom we've cases, make it impossible for me to do my job and assure the courts and the prosecutors in the department that we’re doing our use integrity.”

The legal professional general has repeatedly shared the same sentiment in private conversations with the president in recent weeks, telling Trump he was frustrated with the president’s public comments and tweets about Justice Department cases, a person acquainted with the problem told the AP. The individual was granted anonymity to go over the private conversations.

Barr was directly asked in the ABC interview whether he believed Trump had the authority to direct him to open a study.

In many cases yes, such as for example “terrorism or fraud by a bank or something similar to that,” Barr said.

However, “If he were to say, you understand, go investigate somebody because - and you sense it’s because they’re a political opponent, then an attorney general shouldn’t carry that out, wouldn’t carry that out.”

 

Still, Barr has verified to become a largely reliable ally and defender of presidential power. That includes his preemptive framing of the results from special counsel Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation this past year in a way favorable to Trump when Mueller pointedly said he couldn’t exonerate the president of obstruction of justice.

Trump has publicly and privately threatened payback in the type of investigations against his perceived enemies including former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Director Andrew McCabe, whom prosecutors said Friday they might not charge with lying about leaking. And he’s also pressed for investigations into political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, especially following Trump’s impeachment acquittal over a telephone call where he asked Ukraine’s leaders to research the Bidens.

And Flynn’s case is becoming something of a cause for Trump supporters, who have seized on the former Trump aide’s assertion that he was somehow ambushed by the FBI during an interview at the White House.

For Comey, Trump has tweeted scores of that time period that he should be charged with crimes. Trump was particularly incensed that no charges were filed over the former FBI director’s handling of memos about his interactions with Trump, according to a White House official and Republican near to the White House not authorized to speak publicly about private discussions.

The president angrily denounced your choice never to charge Comey to aides and berated Barr over it, based on the officials. Aides expected the decision never to charge McCabe could produce a similar angry reaction.

Trump in addition has repeatedly complained about FBI Director Christopher Wray lately, saying that Wray has not done enough to rid the bureau of folks who are disloyal to him.

An administration official acknowledged there's been some tension between Trump and Barr in recent weeks, but said Trump still has confidence in his legal professional general.

The state, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private conversations, said Trump also knows it might be risky to remove Barr prior to the 2020 election and that it's highly unlikely he could look for a suitable replacement before then.

Earlier this week, the Justice Department overruled its own prosecutors - who had recommended in a court filing that Trump’s longtime ally and confidant Stone be sentenced to 7 to 9 years in prison - and took the extraordinary step of lowering the quantity of prison time it would seek. The complete trial team of prosecutors quit the case after the amended filing, and one quit the DOJ altogether.

Barr faced strong criticism over your choice, which followed just hours after Trump tweeted his displeasure about the harsher recommendation. Trump greeted the reversal with another tweet congratulating Barr for taking action, which proved to be a tipping point for the legal professional general. He chosen a public interview to air his frustrations with the president while word was delivered to the White House simply a small amount of time before it aired.

On Friday, Trump quoted among Barr’s comments in the interview: “The president hasn't asked me to do anything in a criminal case.” A.G. Barr - and then Trump added in his tweet - “This doesn’t mean that I do not need, as President, the legal right to do so, I do, but I have up to now chosen never to!”

Stone is to be sentenced by a federal judge in a few days. His legal representatives filed a motion Friday evening seeking a fresh trial, though information on the motion remained under seal.

House Democrats frustrated over the Senate’s acquittal of Trump on impeachment want answers from Barr in what they see as his efforts to politicize federal police. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Barr will testify prior to the panel March 31.

The Justice Department insisted your choice to undo the sentencing recommendation was made Monday night - before Trump blasted the recommendation on Twitter as “very horrible and unfair”- and prosecutors had not spoken to the White House about any of it.

Barr joined a roster of high-level aides who have publicly criticized Trump, though the rest left their jobs first. Former National Security Adviser John Bolton is to create a book the following month detailing his amount of time in the White House including criticism of Trump actions such as for example his decision to withhold military assistance while seeking a political favor from Ukraine. And former Chief of Staff John Kelly, who has largely kept a minimal profile since leaving the White House, is continuing to grow more open about his unflattering assessments of the president.