{"articles":[{"reaction_config":[{"text":"Yes","color":"#624960","stance":"yes"},{"text":"Maybe","color":"#edb723","stance":"maybe"},{"text":"No","color":"#4ac6ec","stance":"no"}],"id":42292,"title":"Judges Call Emergency Meeting on Roger Stone Case Intervention - Should Barr Resign?","html_content":"

by Axios | 2.18.20

The Federal Judges Association told USA Today the independent group called an emergency meeting Tuesday to address \"growing concerns\" about the Department of Justice, Attorney General Bill Barr, President Trump and the intervention of \"politically sensitive cases.\"

Why it matters: This is another example of the scrutiny Barr is facing from not only Democrats but also members of the legal community — from both sides of the political aisle — following his intervention in the sentencing of President Trump's associate Roger Stone last week.

Philadelphia U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, the independent judges association's president, who was nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush, told USA Today she organized the conference call in response to the Stone case intervention.

What they're saying: \"We just could not wait until April to discuss matters of this importance,\" Rufe said in reference to the group's spring conference. \"There are plenty of issues that we are concerned about.\"

The big picture: Over 1,100 former DOJ officials who served Republican and Democratic administrations signed onto a statement Sunday condemning Barr's action arguing that his actions \"require\" him to resign.

The president has also been singled out by members of the legal community for criticizing the judge presiding over Stone's case, Amy Berman Jackson. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell issued a rare statement last week over the action, saying \"Public criticism or pressure is not a factor\" in sentencing decisions.
21 former chairs of the American Bar Association's Litigation Section also denounced Trump's tweet in a letter to the Washington Post Monday.

The other side: The Trump administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. But the DOJ maintains the original sentence request by career prosecutors of 7–9 years in prison for Stone's crimes including obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering was too harsh — citing factors including Stone's \"advanced age, health, personal circumstances and lack of criminal history.\"

Barr told ABC News Thursday that Trump's \"constant background commentary\" about the DOJ \"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.\"
Trump tweeted Friday that he has \"the legal right\" to ask Barr to intervene in criminal cases but he has \"so far chosen not to.\"
Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff Marc Short told CNN Sunday that Trump felt the justice system was biased against him.

\n\"The president's frustration is one that a lot of the Americans have which feels like the scales of justice are not balanced anymore. And when someone like Roger Stone gets a prosecution that suggests a nine-year jail sentence which is four years above the sentencing guidelines ... they feel it is unusual.\"— Short on CNN

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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":48300,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":1634,"following_count":88,"position_count":567,"id":"9odrQBnb","partner_id":null}],"article_comment":{"flagged":false,"id":1199795,"body":"Barr should quit or be impeached. It doesn’t take a tweet from 45 to reveal Barr’s treachery to any American who’s paying attention - just a free press. One way or another, he’s got to go while we still have some cherished institutions.","parent_type":"Article","parent_id":42292,"created_at":"2020-02-19T00:31:15.798Z","liked":false,"like_count":2,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/comments/1199795","likers":"https://www.causes.com/api/v1/likers?likeable_id=1199795&likeable_type=Comment"},"article_id":42292,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/comments/1199795.png","note":{"text":"Yes","color":"#624960","stance":"yes"},"note_text":"Yes","note_color":"#624960","user_id":"WRoYRd6V","liker_ids":["Bmyny8a9","9odrQBnb"]}}

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