Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) called for the impeachment of U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr during a House Judiciary Committee hearing last week.
In a statement released before the hearing, Cohen claimed the Department of Justice “has clearly been corrupted” under Barr’s leadership. He pointed to the recent removal of Geoffrey Berman, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and the Justice Department’s request to dismiss its criminal case against Michael Flynn as evidence of corruption.
“This important agency, charged with upholding the rule of law, is instead busy trying to protect the President and his close associates from the law. I expect the witness testimonies will unmask a culture of corruption so vast and unaccountable that the American people will be appalled and repelled. This hearing will explore the very essence of checks and balances in our system of government, and I hope everyone will be paying attention,” said Cohen.
During the Wednesday hearing, Cohen said the House should “pursue impeachment of Bill Barr because he is reigning terror on the rule of law.”
He also criticized Barr’s antitrust investigation of 10 mergers in the cannabis industry. Cohen characterized the investigation as “harassment by Bill Barr of an industry he didn’t like.”
The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility said in a memo released earlier this month that the Antitrust Division “acted consistent with all applicable laws, regulations, and DOJ guidelines in its review of the proposed cannabis mergers.”
According to Politico, Cohen has sent a letter to his fellow House Democrats urging them to consider impeachment of Attorney General Barr.
“I intend to introduce a resolution laying out many instances of Attorney General Barr’s misconduct and urging the Judiciary Committee to continue its investigations into these instances, evaluate the evidence, and to determine if this constitutes impeachable conduct,” Cohen said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Politico.
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-09) said on Twitter that he would support the motion to impeach Barr, while Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) said Barr “should resign.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
