Common Cause Calls for Impeachment of Attorney General William Barr

Today, Common Cause called on the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach and the Senate to convict and remove Attorney General William Barr from office for obstruction of Congress, abuse of power and failing to faithfully execute his office. In a letter to every Member of Congress, Common Cause emphasized that Barr, despite serving as the nation's top law enforcement official, has violated his oath of office and put the interests of President Donald Trump before the interests of the nation.

"Attorney General Barr has politicized the Department of Justice and undermined trust in the law by prioritizing and acting in the interests of a president who has committed impeachable offenses, rather than upholding the law and the Constitution. Attorney General Barr has repeatedly violated his oath to the people he swore to protect and must be impeached and removed from office," said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause. "The American people deserve an Attorney General committed to upholding the Constitution and applying the law without fear or favor. The Attorney General has repeatedly proven unwilling to put the interests of the nation before those of the man who appointed him and he must be removed from office before he does more harm to the nation."

The letter details a number of the more serious abuses of the office of Attorney General by William Barr. Most recently Barr ignored the evidence and conclusions of the Justice Department Inspector General's report finding the FBI properly launched an investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Previously the Attorney General mischaracterized and undermined the work and conclusions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian election interference and obstruction of justice - intentionally delaying the release of the actual report in order to release his own "summary" to undercut the Special Counsel's findings.

The letter also details Barr's actions to facilitate the Trump Administration's unlawful withholding of the Ukraine whistleblower complaint from Congress on the basis of his Office of Legal Counsel's severely flawed reasoning--reasoning sharply criticized by the DOJ's own Inspector General and dozens of other federal agency inspectors general. Further the letter outlines the Attorney General's obstruction of the congressional investigations into the Trump Administration's attempt to insert a citizenship question into the 2020 Census by continuing to defy lawfully-issued Congressional subpoenas.

"Attorney General Barr is blatantly abusing the considerable powers of his office and undermining the rule of law in this nation and he must be removed from office," Paul S. Ryan, Common Cause vice president for policy and litigation. "William Barr's abuse of power is unprecedented for an Attorney General of the United States and cannot be tolerated in a democracy. Congress must move swiftly to impeach and remove William Barr from office."

To read the letter, click here.