The attorney general is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on March 31. Let’s hope he can put an end to this partisan witch hunt before the Democrats lead the country into another time consuming, expensive, and baseless investigation.
Stone was convicted of witness tampering and lying to Congress in November. These crimes (often called “process crimes”) occurred during the investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Federal prosecutors recommended that Stone serve a prison sentence of seven to nine years.
President Trump did not take kindly to this recommendation, calling it “terrible and unfair.” Shortly thereafter, the Justice Department announced that the recommended sentence was “shocking” and that it planned to amend its recommendation to the court and ask for a shorter sentence. That led all four prosecutors to withdraw from the case. The president subsequently congratulated Barr for the decision to seek a lighter sentence.
As the Daily Caller reported, a Justice Department source indicated that the decision to revise Stone’s recommended sentence was made before Trump published his tweets. Moreover, a senior Justice Department official told Fox News, “The department finds seven to nine years extreme, excessive and grossly disproportionate. The sentencing recommendation was not what had been briefed to the Department.”
Naturally, some on the Left called for Barr’s immediate resignation or possible impeachment. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) indicated that Barr had “no choice” but to resign. Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tweeted: