President Trump on Friday asserted he has “the legal right” to insert himself into the Justice Department’s handling of criminal cases one day after Attorney General William Barr said the president’s tweets were making his job more difficult.
Trump cited Barr’s comments from an ABC News interview in which the attorney general said Trump had not asked him to take certain action in a criminal case.
“This doesn’t mean that I do not have, as President, the legal right to do so, I do, but I have so far chosen not to!” Trump tweeted.
“The President has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case.” A.G. Barr This doesn’t mean that I do not have, as President, the legal right to do so, I do, but I have so far chosen not to!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 14, 2020
The tweet was Trump’s first comment on the matter since the Barr interview aired on Thursday.
Barr told ABC News in an interview that Trump never asked him to act in a criminal case, including longtime associate Roger Stone’s, but that tweets about the Department of Justice and its employees “make it impossible to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors in the department that we are doing our work with integrity.”
“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Barr said.
………
- Discussion
-
Trump maintains he can intervene in Justice Dept's handling of cases after Barr urges him to curb tweeting https://t.co/TInJwkayR9 pic.twitter.com/5B6iCVQJed
— The Hill (@thehill) February 14, 2020
Yep, someone explained to Trump what’s going on here and at least for a moment he agreed to try and not mess up the con. https://t.co/H3Frix0Own
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) February 13, 2020
This is a good account to follow if you’re tracking criminal justice issues. https://t.co/wsxYoBL3OT
— Eli Lake (@EliLake) February 14, 2020
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.