1,100 sign petition calling for Barr to step down

WASHINGTON — More than 1,100 former federal prosecutors and Justice Department officials called on Attorney General William Barr on Sunday to step down after he intervened last week to lower the Justice Department’s sentencing recommendation for President Donald Trump’s longtime friend Roger Stone.

They also urged current government employees to report any signs of unethical behavior at the Justice Department to the agency’s inspector general and to Congress.

‘‘Each of us strongly condemns President Trump’s and Attorney General Barr’s interference in the fair administration of justice,’’ the former Justice Department lawyers, who came from across the political spectrum, wrote in an open letter Sunday. Those actions, they said ‘‘require Mr. Barr to resign.’’

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

After prosecutors on Monday recommended a prison sentence of up to nine years for Stone, who was convicted of obstructing a congressional inquiry, Trump lashed out at federal law enforcement. Senior officials at the department, including Barr, overrode the recommendation the next day with a more lenient one, immediately prompting accusations of political interference, and the four lawyers on the Stone case abruptly withdrew in protest.

The Justice Department said the case had not been discussed with anyone at the White House, but Trump’s congratulating Barr on his decision did little to dispel the perception of political influence.

And as the president widened his attacks on law enforcement, Barr publicly reproached the president, saying that Trump’s statements undermined him as well the department.

‘‘I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me,’’ Barr said during a televised interview Thursday with ABC News.

But lawyers across the Justice Department continue to worry about political interference from the president despite public pushback by Barr, long considered a close ally of Trump’s.

Even as the lawyers condemned Barr on Sunday, they said they welcomed his rebuke of Trump and his assertions that law enforcement must be independent of politics.

But Barr’s ‘‘actions in doing the president’s personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words,’’ they said.

The letter comes days after some Democratic senators pressed for Barr to resign, and after the New York City Bar Association said it had formally reported the attorney general’s behavior to the Justice Department’s inspector general.