{"articles":[{"reaction_config":[{"text":"Yes","color":"#624960","stance":"yes"},{"text":"Maybe","color":"#edb723","stance":"maybe"},{"text":"No","color":"#4ac6ec","stance":"no"}],"id":42238,"title":"Barr: Trump’s Roger Stone Tweets 'Make It Impossible for Me to Do My Job'","html_content":"

by Axios | 2.13.20

Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News in an interview Thursday that President Trump's \"constant background commentary\" about the Justice Department “make it impossible for me to do my job,\" adding, “I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases.\"

Why it matters: It's a rare public rebuke of the president by the attorney general, who has faced allegations of politicizing the Justice Department.

Driving the news: President Trump acknowledged in a tweet Wednesday that Barr had personally intervened to overrule career prosecutors' sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone. Trump congratulated Barr on Twitter for \"taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought.\"

Stone was indicted in the Mueller investigation and convicted for lying about his efforts to find out more about the timing of WikiLeaks' release of damaging emails related to Hillary Clinton.
Trump has called the seven- to nine-year sentencing recommendation Stone initially received \"a disgrace\" and left open the possibility of a pardon.

What he's saying: Asked if he was prepared to take the blowback for criticizing the president, Barr responded: “Of course.”

\"As I said during my confirmation, I came in to serve as attorney general. I am responsible for everything that happens in the department, but the thing I have most responsibility for are the issues that are brought to me for decision.\"
\"And I will make those decisions based on what I think is the right thing to do, and I'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody, whether it's Congress, newspaper editorial boards or the president. I’m gonna do what I think is right.\"

Barr said that with respect to the Stone decision, Trump's late-night tweet put him in an especially difficult position. Both the White House and Justice Department have insisted there was no coordination and that the decision to intervene in the Stone case was made before Trump's tweet.

“Do you go forward with what you think is the right decision or do you pull back because of the tweet? And that just sort of illustrates how disruptive these tweets can be,” he said.

In response to the interview, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham issued the following statement:

\"The President wasn't bothered by the comments at all and he has the right, just like any American citizen to publicly offer his opinions. [He has] full faith and confidence in Attorney General Barr to do his job and uphold the law.\"

Go deeper: House Judiciary Committee says Barr has agreed to testify

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Wounded veterans constitute a significant percentage of my students, as do minorities and international students. I suppose I had naively imagined that progress had been made on social issues during the 1970s, but everything negative seems to be hanging around, and the new administration in Washington worries and offends me. I feel compelled to voice my concerns because America cannot survive without reason, compassion, and an energetic sense of humor.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"verymary","issue_count":13,"is_following":null,"influence_score":4690,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":176,"following_count":483,"position_count":160,"id":"jZB7LVzm","partner_id":null},{"name":"Dicr","vote_count":221,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/e9XBdlXZ/large_e9xbdlxz-1538070422.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/e9XBdlXZ/small_e9xbdlxz-1538070422.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/e9XBdlXZ/tiny_e9xbdlxz-1538070422.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/e9XBdlXZ/following","followers":"/api/users/e9XBdlXZ/followers"},"about_me":"Concerned American who wants to leave a better America for our children and a better world for all.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"dicr","issue_count":25,"is_following":null,"influence_score":6120,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":222,"following_count":2,"position_count":159,"id":"e9XBdlXZ","partner_id":null},{"name":"MarianToon","vote_count":208,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odNv0jb/large_9odnv0jb-1584407673.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odNv0jb/small_9odnv0jb-1584407673.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odNv0jb/tiny_9odnv0jb-1584407673.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/9odNv0jb/following","followers":"/api/users/9odNv0jb/followers"},"about_me":"Retired , Mother , Gramma, sibling, progressive, loves my home, t v hound, Artist","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"mariantoon","issue_count":29,"is_following":null,"influence_score":1080,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":47,"following_count":101,"position_count":234,"id":"9odNv0jb","partner_id":null},{"name":"jimK","vote_count":566,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/large_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/small_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/tiny_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/9odrQBnb/following","followers":"/api/users/9odrQBnb/followers"},"about_me":"Retired, Politically Independent. Won’t listen to slogans, chanted mantras or generally any kind of marketing spin or “rebranding” crap. I firmly believe that everyone else is entitled to their erroneous opinions. Citizen vigilance and due diligence is price we must pay to live in a thriving, functional democracy.\nI fear that our citizens are too easily swayed by politician’s pablum about “babies”, “jobs” and now, in particular, perceived “enemies”. I fear that a citizenry focused on the “here-and-now” is easily tricked by short term benefits that have negative long-term consequences. I fear that our legislators are more concerned about buffing their constituents than looking out for the long-term welfare of our country- and are way too eager to provide those short-term benefits to the “here-and-now” crowd.\nI fear that honor is generally being sacrificed/replaced by expediency. I hear politicians eloquently argue for one side of an issue and later, when it’s to their benefit, just as eloquently argue for the opposite side. OK, so they are good at arguing- but what is that they actually believe? What is it that they actually stand for? An honorable person has values that persist even when it is not convenient or expedient. An honorable person has a moral compass that stops them from doing something wrong even if it is not illegal. A foul is a foul- even if the referee doesn’t catch you.\nI fear that each of our federal governmental branches have devised or discovered shortcuts which tend to protect them from the checks and balances our founders intended.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"jimk","issue_count":4,"is_following":null,"influence_score":48030,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":1628,"following_count":87,"position_count":562,"id":"9odrQBnb","partner_id":null}],"article_comment":{"flagged":false,"id":1196737,"body":"Barr thinks his job is to agree w/ trumpty-Dumpty. But it is harder for him to do that when our Twitter-in-chief brags about his influence over over Barr & his DOJ . We are witnessing the beginnings of the destruction of our LAW & ORDER SYSTEM😩","parent_type":"Article","parent_id":42238,"created_at":"2020-02-14T02:36:14.303Z","liked":false,"like_count":6,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/comments/1196737","likers":"https://www.causes.com/api/v1/likers?likeable_id=1196737&likeable_type=Comment"},"article_id":42238,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/comments/1196737.png","note":{"text":"No","color":"#4ac6ec","stance":"no"},"note_text":"No","note_color":"#4ac6ec","user_id":"mrvGBOJO","liker_ids":["Bmyny8a9","omE23xY9","jZB7LVzm","e9XBdlXZ","9odNv0jb","9odrQBnb"]}}

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