Feb 18, 2020 - Politics & Policy

GOP congressional leaders issue statement defending Bill Barr

Ursula Perano

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy issued a statement Tuesday in support of Attorney General William Barr.

Why it matters: More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials have called on Barr to resign for his role in politically sensitive investigations, after he intervened in the case of Trump associate Roger Stone.

Career prosecutors sought a prison sentence of seven to nine years for Stone, but the DOJ overruled their sentencing memo and claimed such a sentence would be too harsh.
All four prosecutors who tried the Stone case resigned following the DOJ's intervention.

The big picture: Trump has publicly expressed his support for the DOJ's decision, but Barr hasn't welcomed the praise. The attorney general said in an ABC News interview he believes Trump chiming in on the issue makes his job "impossible."

What they're saying:

"Suggestions from outside groups that the Attorney General has fallen short of the responsibilities of his office are unfounded. The Attorney General has shown that he is committed without qualification to securing equal justice under law for all Americans."

— McConnell, Graham and McCarthy

Go deeper: 9 Democratic senators call on Bill Barr to resign over Roger Stone case

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GOP congressional leaders issue statement defending Bill Barr

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