Dems dig into Justice politics
WASHINGTON — House Democrats are scrutinizing whether President Donald Trump or his appointees have interfered at the Justice Department for political reasons, a committee chairman said Friday, requesting documents and interviews with 15 U.S. attorneys related to the cases of three Trump associates and a review of the FBI’s Russia inquiry.
Among those singled out for interviews in a letter from Democrats to Attorney General William Barr were four career prosecutors who quit in protest after senior officials intervened to reverse their recommendation and suggest a shorter sentence for Roger Stone, a longtime Trump confidant, in line with what the president had publicly demanded. The episode ignited long-smoldering fears that Trump’s personal and political interests were tilting the scales of justice.
“These circumstances are deeply troubling,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the Judiciary Committee chairman, wrote in the letter to Barr. “Although you serve at the president’s pleasure, you are also charged with the impartial administration of our laws. In turn, the House Judiciary Committee is charged with holding you to that responsibility.”
The requests are the first major return to politically charged oversight matters by the Judiciary Committee since it helped late last year to impeach Trump.
Officials were careful Friday not to characterize the requests as the beginning of a new investigation, instead framing them as routine oversight.
Nadler asked for materials related to a handful of criminal cases, including the sentencing of Stone, as well as antitrust matters and a review by John H. Durham into the roots of Robert Mueller’s investigation into 2016 Russian election interference and the Trump campaign. Democrats believe Durham’s inquiry is intended to undermine Mueller’s findings.
The Justice Department confirmed Friday morning that it was reviewing the requests but declined to comment further.
Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the committee, dismissed the Democrats’ demands as a distraction that provided “further proof that they care about one thing and one thing only: Attempting to take down President Trump.”