The Department of Justice appears to be putting Donald Trump’s friends above the law.
Following a tweet from Trump, the Justice Department undid the work of career civil servants prosecuting Trump’s confidante, the convicted criminal Roger Stone, shortening the sentence they were seeking in his case. All four of the federal attorneys responsible for pursuing justice for Stone’s crimes have resigned in protest.
The Justice Department’s internal watchdog must investigate the corrupt about-face made at the seeming behest of Donald Trump and call out cronyism within its own ranks. But given how compromised disgraced Attorney General William Barr is, we cannot trust the Justice Department to correct its course. The House Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of Barr, must also investigate independently.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Donald Trump has already shown that he thinks he’s above the law, and will act accordingly. But the Justice Department showing preferential treatment for Trump’s criminal accomplices is a threat to the country. This turn has come within a week of the Senate GOP refusing to hold Trump accountable for his impeachable offenses. If the Department of Justice’s Inspector General and the House Judiciary Committee don’t act now, Trump will be shown that he is free to bend the law to his whim.