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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the topic of Roger Stone in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
'Language of Monarchy': Trump Asserts He Has 'Absolute Right' to Tell Justice Department What to Do
"Trump spends his days threatening the Justice Department in order to keep his criminal buddies out of prison, while Bill Barr grotesquely pillages the rule of law."
Feb 11, 2020
Speaking to reporters amid growing outrage over the Justice Department's decision to intervene to reduce Roger Stone's recommended prison sentence, President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied that he instructed the DOJ to step in but asserted he "would be able to do it if I wanted."
"I have the absolute right to do it," Trump said. "I stay out of things to a degree that people wouldn't believe but I didn't speak to [the Justice Department]. I thought the recommendation was ridiculous. I thought the whole prosecution was ridiculous. And I look at others that haven't been prosecuted... but when you see that I thought it was an insult to our country."
"I think it's a disgrace. No, I have not been involved with it at all," said Trump, who earlier Tuesday tweeted his displeasure with federal prosecutors' recommendation of seven to nine years of prison for Stone for witness tampering and lying to Congress. Stone is a longtime friend, confidant, and adviser to the president.
Watch Trump's comments, which one observer described as the "language of monarchy":
\u201cTrump says he didn\u2019t intervene in Roger Stone\u2019s sentencing but \u201cI had the absolute right to do it,\u201d he said, adding \u201cthe recommendation was ridiculous.\u201d\n\nAsked if he\u2019ll commute Stone\u2019s sentence, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about it\u201d\u201d— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Bloomberg Quicktake) 1581461484
On Wednesday morning, Trump took to Twitter to congratulate Attorney General William Barr for "taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought."
The Washington Post's Greg Sargent responded that the president "has now publicly admitted that his attorney general intervened in the case of his own longtime adviser--who obstructed an investigation into an attack on our political system--for the express purpose of undermining DOJ's own investigative conclusions about himself."
\u201cTrump has now publicly admitted that his attorney general intervened in the case of his own longtime adviser -- who obstructed an investigation into an attack on our political system -- for the express purpose of undermining DOJ's own investigative conclusions about himself.\u201d— Greg Sargent (@Greg Sargent) 1581508678
The president's tweet came after he and Barr faced accusations of illegally wielding the power of the Justice Department to overrule career federal prosecutors to protect Trump's friend.
Following the Justice Department's intervention Tuesday, all four prosecutors handling the Stone case withdrew from the proceedings.
"Donald Trump's priorities begin and end with consolidating power," tweeted Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). "Trump spends his days threatening the Justice Department in order to keep his criminal buddies out of prison, while Bill Barr grotesquely pillages the rule of law."
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Speaking to reporters amid growing outrage over the Justice Department's decision to intervene to reduce Roger Stone's recommended prison sentence, President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied that he instructed the DOJ to step in but asserted he "would be able to do it if I wanted."
"I have the absolute right to do it," Trump said. "I stay out of things to a degree that people wouldn't believe but I didn't speak to [the Justice Department]. I thought the recommendation was ridiculous. I thought the whole prosecution was ridiculous. And I look at others that haven't been prosecuted... but when you see that I thought it was an insult to our country."
"I think it's a disgrace. No, I have not been involved with it at all," said Trump, who earlier Tuesday tweeted his displeasure with federal prosecutors' recommendation of seven to nine years of prison for Stone for witness tampering and lying to Congress. Stone is a longtime friend, confidant, and adviser to the president.
Watch Trump's comments, which one observer described as the "language of monarchy":
\u201cTrump says he didn\u2019t intervene in Roger Stone\u2019s sentencing but \u201cI had the absolute right to do it,\u201d he said, adding \u201cthe recommendation was ridiculous.\u201d\n\nAsked if he\u2019ll commute Stone\u2019s sentence, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about it\u201d\u201d— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Bloomberg Quicktake) 1581461484
On Wednesday morning, Trump took to Twitter to congratulate Attorney General William Barr for "taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought."
The Washington Post's Greg Sargent responded that the president "has now publicly admitted that his attorney general intervened in the case of his own longtime adviser--who obstructed an investigation into an attack on our political system--for the express purpose of undermining DOJ's own investigative conclusions about himself."
\u201cTrump has now publicly admitted that his attorney general intervened in the case of his own longtime adviser -- who obstructed an investigation into an attack on our political system -- for the express purpose of undermining DOJ's own investigative conclusions about himself.\u201d— Greg Sargent (@Greg Sargent) 1581508678
The president's tweet came after he and Barr faced accusations of illegally wielding the power of the Justice Department to overrule career federal prosecutors to protect Trump's friend.
Following the Justice Department's intervention Tuesday, all four prosecutors handling the Stone case withdrew from the proceedings.
"Donald Trump's priorities begin and end with consolidating power," tweeted Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). "Trump spends his days threatening the Justice Department in order to keep his criminal buddies out of prison, while Bill Barr grotesquely pillages the rule of law."
Speaking to reporters amid growing outrage over the Justice Department's decision to intervene to reduce Roger Stone's recommended prison sentence, President Donald Trump on Tuesday denied that he instructed the DOJ to step in but asserted he "would be able to do it if I wanted."
"I have the absolute right to do it," Trump said. "I stay out of things to a degree that people wouldn't believe but I didn't speak to [the Justice Department]. I thought the recommendation was ridiculous. I thought the whole prosecution was ridiculous. And I look at others that haven't been prosecuted... but when you see that I thought it was an insult to our country."
"I think it's a disgrace. No, I have not been involved with it at all," said Trump, who earlier Tuesday tweeted his displeasure with federal prosecutors' recommendation of seven to nine years of prison for Stone for witness tampering and lying to Congress. Stone is a longtime friend, confidant, and adviser to the president.
Watch Trump's comments, which one observer described as the "language of monarchy":
\u201cTrump says he didn\u2019t intervene in Roger Stone\u2019s sentencing but \u201cI had the absolute right to do it,\u201d he said, adding \u201cthe recommendation was ridiculous.\u201d\n\nAsked if he\u2019ll commute Stone\u2019s sentence, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about it\u201d\u201d— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Bloomberg Quicktake) 1581461484
On Wednesday morning, Trump took to Twitter to congratulate Attorney General William Barr for "taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought."
The Washington Post's Greg Sargent responded that the president "has now publicly admitted that his attorney general intervened in the case of his own longtime adviser--who obstructed an investigation into an attack on our political system--for the express purpose of undermining DOJ's own investigative conclusions about himself."
\u201cTrump has now publicly admitted that his attorney general intervened in the case of his own longtime adviser -- who obstructed an investigation into an attack on our political system -- for the express purpose of undermining DOJ's own investigative conclusions about himself.\u201d— Greg Sargent (@Greg Sargent) 1581508678
The president's tweet came after he and Barr faced accusations of illegally wielding the power of the Justice Department to overrule career federal prosecutors to protect Trump's friend.
Following the Justice Department's intervention Tuesday, all four prosecutors handling the Stone case withdrew from the proceedings.
"Donald Trump's priorities begin and end with consolidating power," tweeted Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). "Trump spends his days threatening the Justice Department in order to keep his criminal buddies out of prison, while Bill Barr grotesquely pillages the rule of law."
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