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The Trump administration will be over on January 20, but officials like Attorney General William Barr — who has been involved in some of this administration’s most corrupt policies — must not be allowed to escape accountability.
Here’s what we’re still investigating:1/
Here’s what we’re still investigating:1/
President Trump has sought to transform DOJ into a political weapon meant to serve his allies & punish his perceived enemies.
We've uncovered details on the extent to which Barr has aided those efforts, including the Durham investigation, Roger Stone’s sentencing & more. 2/
We've uncovered details on the extent to which Barr has aided those efforts, including the Durham investigation, Roger Stone’s sentencing & more. 2/
Our FOIA litigation revealed that Barr met frequently with federal prosecutor John Durham, who was tasked with looking into the origins of the Russia investigation — 18 times in the 7 months after the Mueller investigation ended. 3/ https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/john-durhams-politicized-investigation-and-william-barrs-role-in-it
On March 25, 2019 — just a day after Barr submitted his letter summarizing the Mueller report to Congress — Durham met with Barr, Barr’s then-Chief of Staff Brian Rabbitt and two career officials from the department’s Justice Management Division. 4/
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6890194-DOJ-OIP-19-0688-A.html#document/p2/a564554
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6890194-DOJ-OIP-19-0688-A.html#document/p2/a564554
Despite Barr’s frequent public statements about the ongoing Durham investigation, DOJ has selectively chosen to invoke the “ongoing investigation” privilege to withhold documents the public needs in order to understand Durham’s work. 5/ https://www.americanoversight.org/barr-continues-to-comment-on-ongoing-durham-investigation-even-as-justice-dept-withholds-documents-about-it-from-public
In response to our FOIA requests, DOJ has acknowledged that it has 24 pages of directives and guidance regarding the Durham probe, as well as records regarding its related expenses. DOJ refuses to turn over the Durham-related records. 6/
“The whole point of tapping an outside prosecutor in a case like this is to avoid political interference from the attorney general and other top officials, but here we see just the opposite: Bill Barr had repeated meetings and calls with John Durham at critical moments....” 7/
”...linked to the Russia investigation, and that raises serious questions about the independence and credibility of whatever Durham produces,” our executive director Austin Evers said when we uncovered the documents. 8/ https://www.americanoversight.org/documents-we-obtained-show-barr-met-with-prosecutor-examining-mueller-investigation-immediately-after-mueller-investigation-ended
In February 2020, the abrupt change in sentencing recommendations for Roger Stone was a shocking example of the lengths Barr’s Justice Department was willing to go to in order to intervene in the cases of associates of President Trump. 9/
In September, we obtained records that shed new light on the circumstances surrounding this controversial move. The records showed how quickly DOJ leadership’s intervention caused chaos. 10/ https://www.americanoversight.org/new-details-about-roger-stone-sentencing-change
On Feb. 10, DOJ prosecutors recommended Stone serve 7-9 years in prison for lying under oath and witness tampering. Trump tweeted his displeasure at Stone’s perceived ill-treatment. On Feb. 11, an amended sentencing memo was filed. 11/
The records we obtained show that on the night of Feb. 10, DOJ official J.P. Cooney signed off on filing the original sentencing memo. 12/
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7220611-DOJ-Records-Regarding-Roger-Stone-Sentencing.html#document/p44/a583570
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7220611-DOJ-Records-Regarding-Roger-Stone-Sentencing.html#document/p44/a583570
On the morning of Feb. 11, Fox News reported that DOJ’s sentencing position in Stone’s case was expected to change. Around noon that day, Cooney responded to a press inquiry asking whether the reports were accurate. “False,” Cooney said. 13/
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7220611-DOJ-Records-Regarding-Roger-Stone-Sentencing.html#document/p36/a583573
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7220611-DOJ-Records-Regarding-Roger-Stone-Sentencing.html#document/p36/a583573
We also obtained records that show Barr personally met with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani & former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy in the summer and fall of 2019 — apparently regarding a Venezuelan client — just a month before the impeachment inquiry was announced. 14/ https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/politics/trey-gowdy-rudy-giuliani-impeachment-proceedings/index.html
And visitor logs from 2019 and 2020 obtained by American Oversight indicate Barr also met with Tom Fitton, Fox News host Laura Ingraham, conservative judicial adviser Leonard Leo, and White House official Kash Patel, among others. 15/ https://www.americanoversight.org/document/doj-records-of-attorney-general-barrs-visitor-logs
We're still investigating:
Did Barr aid efforts to discredit voting by mail? Barr cited false data to assert that elections relying on VBM have had substantial fraud, which DOJ claimed was due to an incorrect briefing memo. We requested that memo. 16/
Did Barr aid efforts to discredit voting by mail? Barr cited false data to assert that elections relying on VBM have had substantial fraud, which DOJ claimed was due to an incorrect briefing memo. We requested that memo. 16/
What role did Barr play in the federal government’s authoritarian and aggressive response to nationwide racial justice protests this summer? In early June, Barr reportedly ordered the removal of peaceful protesters near the White House. 17/
We’ve filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department for any of Barr’s directives on this issue as well as information on all federal police forces deployed to cities across the country. 18/ https://www.americanoversight.org/american-oversight-sues-for-records-of-federal-protest-crackdown
What do internal whistleblowers say about the attorney general’s conduct? Barr has inappropriately intervened in criminal cases against associates of the president, and has made public statements about the progress of ongoing politically sensitive investigations. 19/
We’re suing for any complaints lodged with the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General or its Office of Professional Responsibility regarding Barr’s conduct as attorney general. 20/ https://www.americanoversight.org/american-oversight-sues-for-records-of-complaints-about-barrs-conduct
Barr is just one of the administration officials we’re still investigating. Stay tuned for more info about our ongoing work—and check out our detailed blog about how we’re using records requests & litigation to ensure Barr and others are held accountable. https://www.americanoversight.org/open-questions-about-trump-administration-figures
