September 26, 2020

Federal Prosecutor: William Barr Has “Brought Shame” on the Justice Department

The attorney general “has done the president’s bidding at every turn.”

President Donald Trump listens to Attorney General William Barr speak to reporters in the Oval Office in July.Anna Moneymaker/ZUMA

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In a rare move, a federal prosecutor is denouncing Attorney General William Barr for abusing the Justice Department’s authority to support President Donald Trump.

“The attorney general acts as though his job is to serve only the political interests of Donald J. Trump,” Assistant US Attorney James D. Herbert wrote in a letter to the Boston Globe. “This is a dangerous abuse of power.” He added that Barr “has done the president’s bidding at every turn.”

Herbert said he was compelled to speak out after Barr criticized his own department’s prosecutors during a speech this month at Hillsdale College in Michigan. Barr referred to some prosecutors as “headhunters” in the speech and criticized them for pursuing “ill-conceived charges against prominent political figures.”

While many former prosecutors have spoken out against Trump, it’s highly unusual for current federal prosecutors to express their political views. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that Herbert is still a US attorney in Massachusetts.

Herbert explained at the end of his letter that, “For 30 years I have been proud to say I work for the Department of Justice, but the current attorney general has brought shame on the department he purports to lead.”

Read the full letter here

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