WASHINGTON, DC, February 13, 2020 – Attorney General Bill Barr made news twice in the past week for violating the independence of the Justice Department for political gain. Alliance for Justice Senior Fellow Bill Yeomans, who served in the Department of Justice for 26 years, has a litany of questions he believes the House Judiciary Committee should be asking when Barr testifies under oath next month. He outlines their importance in a new column at Yeomans Work.
The DOJ claims that President Trump’s tweets had nothing to do with the sudden reversal on sentencing recommendations for Roger Stone — a reversal that seemingly prompted four DOJ prosecutors to withdraw from the case. “Either DOJ is lying or its internal processes have failed,” Yeomans writes. “Each possibility provokes major concern.”
Given Barr’s likelihood of stonewalling during his congressional testimony, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing Stone’s case, could be the one to find some answers. “Judge Jackson should order Barr and everyone at DOJ in the chain of command on the Stone case to appear in court to answer questions under oath,” Yeomans recommends. Before sentencing Stone, Judge Jackson should develop all of the facts in an effort to understand DOJ’s position and what is driving it.
Yeomans has many questions he thinks Barr needs to answer, from the process behind the sentencing recommendations for Stone to Rudy Giuliani’s special channel for sharing information about the Bidens exclusively with the DOJ to Barr’s personal approval process for investigations into political candidates. “Undoubtedly, Trump and Barr will assault the rule of law multiple more times before Barr appears before the Committee, but these questions should remain relevant and help to lay a foundation for examining abuses to come.”
Click here to read Yeoman’s full column, including his full list of questions about how Barr and Trump are abusing their power for political purposes.
Yeomans Work focuses on the challenges to the justice system in the era of Trump. Bill Yeomans is available for media interviews. During his time at the Department of Justice, he worked on or supervised criminal cases and a full range of civil rights matters, giving him a deep understanding on the institution and role of career attorneys in the federal government. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent the positions of Alliance for Justice. For booking inquiries, contact Zack Ford, Press Secretary, at Zack.Ford@afj.org or at 202-464-7370.