Four lawyers, all former federal prosecutors, laid out a damning case for the resignation or impeachment of Attorney General Bill Barr in the June 29th episode of the Talking Feds podcast.
Hosted by Joyce Vance, former US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, the episode features the so-called “Sisters In Law”, four women who met as legal experts appearing on MSNBC. The episode also featured an interview with Mimi Rocah, another former federal prosecutor who is expected to win the election for Westchester County (NY) District Attorney.
In discussing the actions and confusion regarding the recent replacement of US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman, the panel noted the numerous irregularities in the way Barr had handled the issue.
Barr issued a statement that Berman has stepped down, only to have Berman issue his own statement hours later saying he had done no such thing.
Barr then stated President Trump fired Berman, to which Trump denied any involvement and referred reporters back to Barr.
Ultimately, Berman resigned after receiving assurances from Barr that his hand-picked successor would take his position, undermining Barr’s planned pick.
The comments from the lawyers provide scathing cases for Barr’s resignation, removal or even impeachment:
Barbara McQuade, former US Attorney for Eastern Michigan, on statements by a former prosecutor in Washington DC that he was pressured to recommend a reduced sentence for Trump associate Roger Stone: “If you can help the President’s allies, you can also harm the President’s enemies, and that is not how the justice system works. … It is so much worse than what Alberto Gonzalez resigned over in 2017.”
Jill Wine-Banks, a member of the Watergate prosecution team and General Counsel of the Army: “This is so much worse than Watergate. And remember that the result of Watergate was that the Attorney General went to jail. So that clearly, in my view, Barr is impeachable, disbarrable and probably jailable.” Wine-Banks went on to say that Barr’s use of special investigator John Durham is a clear attempt to create an “October surprise” to help Trump’s reelection campaign, which in-and-of itself is an abuse of power.
Maya Wiley, former Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York: “Let’s remember that while Donald Trump is throwing out little trial balloon bombs about whether or not there is an effort from Democrats to steal elections, Bill Barr will be his right-hand to try to build that case more as we head into November, and he undermines the ability of people to vote and vote safely.”