politico | Democrats are accusing Attorney
General William Barr of using the Justice Department to do President
Donald Trump's political bidding.
Democratic criticism of the attorney general comes amid media reports
that a department probe into the FBI's investigation connections
between Russia and the Trump 2016 campaign has now become a criminal
investigation. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House
Intelligence Committee, accused Barr on Sunday of “weaponizing” the
Justice Department. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have called on Barr to
recuse himself from the department's investigation.
"Bill
Barr, on the president’s behalf, is weaponizing the Justice Department
to go after the president’s enemies,” Schiff said on ABC‘s “This Week
with George Stephanopoulos.” “He’s demonstrating once again that he is
merely a tool of the president, the president’s hand, not the
representative of the American people.”
Trump
has repeatedly called on Barr to investigate how the FBI began its
Russia probe. John Durham, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut, is leading
that effort. The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General
has also been conducting an investigation into aspects of the FBI's
Russia probe. That report is expected to be released in the near future.
