In a rare rebuke of the President, AG William Barr told Trump to ‘stop tweeting’ about law cases, saying that his online tweets made it ‘impossible’ to do his job.
‘I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,’ Barr said the ABC interview.
In the same interview, Barr defended the Justice Departments’ team, after the fallout from the Roger Stone case:
“To have public statements and tweets made about the department, about people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending in the department and about judges before whom we have cases, make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors in the department that we’re doing our work with integrity,” he said.
“I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me,” Barr added. His response was in direct response to Trump’s tweet, below:
Shockingly, the AG told ABC news, ”I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody … whether it’s Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president.’
Barr maintains he did not interfere in the Roger Stone case, saying it was ‘preposterous’ to suggest he ‘intervened’ in the case.,
And when asked if he were worried about the repercussions of criticizing the President, Barr replied ‘of course, no doubt thinking of his predecessor AG Jeff Sessions whom Trump ridiculed mercilessly until he was forced out.