On Wednesday, Politico reported that 27 prominent D.C. attorneys, including four former presidents of the D.C. Bar Association, have signed a complaint calling for a bar investigation of Attorney General William Barr.
"The complaint argues that Barr has broken Washington's ethics rules by being dishonest and violating his oath to uphold the Constitution, along with other charges," reported Betsy Woodruff Swan. "And it highlights four episodes in Barr's time as attorney general to make the case: his characterization of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's 2016 election interference, his criticism of an inspector general report on the Russia probe, his criticism of FBI officials in a TV interview, and his role in the disbursement of peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square, outside the White House."
"Mr. Barr has consistently made decisions and taken action to serve the personal and political self-interests of President Donald Trump, rather than the interest of the United States," said the letter, adding that "the notion that the legitimacy of an FBI investigation's initiation should be judged by its end, if applied broadly, could easily chill the initiation of wholly legitimate inquiries for fear of being second-guessed."
Writing for Just Security, former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger — who runs a legal activist group with two of the signatories — outlined the seriousness of the complaint.
"Sober and highly experienced lawyers like those who signed the complaint wouldn't take such an action except in extraordinary circumstances," he wrote. "It is only because Attorney General Barr's abuses are so serious, so repetitive, and so well documented in the complaint that the signers felt compelled to hold Mr. Barr accountable — to protect the integrity of the legal profession and the American legal system."
You can read the full letter here.
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