Other Chinese-made Trump gear is likely delayed by the coronavirus. But these jackets got through:
It was only a matter of time before MAGA footsoldiers adopted uniforms. Sen. Lindsey Graham got a slick jacket, too. These may be only prototypes. But really, what was it going to take before claxons began sounding in American newsrooms? Brown shirts and Sam Browne belts?
No, just Attorney General William Barr. His intervention this week in the sentencing decision for Trump ally Roger Stone finally woke a somnambulant national press to the fact there is gambling banana republicanism going on in Washington, D.C.
A jury last November found Stone, 67, guilty of seven felonies including lying to Congress, obstructing the Russia investigation, and trying to block testimony by another witness that might have exposed him. The president who was not pleased with the verdict was not pleased with the recommended sentence of 7 to 9 years filed Monday. Trump made his displeasure know via tweet at 1:48 AM Tuesday.
In the Trump administration, a presidential tweet doubles as an interoffice communication. Barr got the memo.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice stepped in to amend prosecutors’ recommendation and reduce it. The entire prosecution team immediately resigned from the case. One federal attorney left the government entirely. Trump aimed a followup tweet at presiding U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
An “existential threat”
Seeing equal protection under law crumbling before our eyes finally shocked at least some journalists into acting like watchdogs, Dan Froomkin writes at Salon:
There is no room for both-sidesi-sm on this issue. Instead, it’s time to explain, in no uncertain terms:
- How badly Trump is perverting the Justice Department
- The importance of insulating the application of the law from political influence
- How the apolitical application of the law is a key distinction between democracies and banana republics
- Who is abetting Trump
- What it will take to rebuild what he has left in ruins
Froomkin summarizes the week’s coverage of the latest Trump violation of legal norms. Greg Sargent’s take was suitably pointed:
Washington Post opinion writer Greg Sargent, for instance, declared on Wednesday morning that “Trump is now openly flaunting his success in manipulating law enforcement for nakedly political and corrupt ends.” Sargent also quoted Michael R. Bromwich, the Justice Department inspector general from 1994 to 1999, saying that Trump “has utter disregard for our system. That is an existential threat to the institutions that most of us value, prize and have served.”
While CNN, MSNBC, and opinion writers raised the alarm, the evening news continues to soft-sell Trump’s corruption. Trump is “testing the independence of the Justice Department,” as CBS tells it. NBC Nightly News reported a “firestorm over Roger Stone” and quoted Trump without pushback. The New York Times drew sharper criticism.
NBC News’ Ken Delanian reported that Department of Justice employees almost walked out en masse on Wednesday over Barr’s actions. Barr responded to criticism by telling ABC News the constant tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job.” But what really makes quietly flushing away Trump’s emissions a headache for Barr is that the toddler insists on showing them off.
Lee Moran writes at Huffington Post:
Critics suggested Barr’s comments to ABC News were simply a coordinated attempt between him and Trump to defuse the outrage sparked by his Department of Justice’s botched sentencing recommendation for Trump’s longtime ally Roger Stone, which Trump had fiercely disagreed with.
Trump doesn’t do coordination. Barr will hear about this.
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