After using his presidential power to issue a series of pardons on Tuesday, Donald Trump raised foes’ hackles as he declared ‘I’m actually, I guess, the chief law enforcement officer of the country.’
Since his acquittal two weeks ago, the president has taken a number of actions that essentially illustrate that essentially, he is the law, according to the Washington Post.
Trump used his presidential power Tuesday to commute the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and issue a trio of pardons: to former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, 1980s junk bond king Michael Milken and former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr.
Blagojevich was imprisoned for soliciting bribes.
Kerik, a close friend of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, served time for eight felony tax and false statement charges. Milken was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his crimes while heading the bond department at the investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert.
DeBartolo pled guilty to the charge of failing to report a felony, and received a $1 million fine and two years of probation
The pardons and commutations followed Trump’s moves to punish witnesses in his impeachment trial, publicly intervene in the pending legal case against Roger Stone and threatened to sue his own government for investigating him, according to the Post.
‘I’m allowed to be totally involved,’ he told reporters as he left Washington on Tuesday. ‘I’m actually, I guess, the chief law enforcement officer of the country. But I’ve chosen not to be involved.’
His proclamation comes as the real chief law enforcement officer of the country, William Barr, has hinted that he is considering quitting as Attorney General.
‘Barr has his limits,’ one anonymous official told the Washington Post, claiming that the AG was fed up by Trump’s continued interference in Justice Department cases.
Bill Barr is reportedly threatening to quit as Attorney General if President Trump does not stop tweeting about Justice Department investigations
Three Trump administration officials told The Washington Post that Barr was considering whether he should tender his resignation.
They claimed that the AG told several people close to Trump – both inside and outside of the White House – about his potential plans.
‘Barr has his limits,’ one anonymous official told The Post, claiming that the AG was fed up by Trump’s continued interference in Justice Department cases.
The report ran in the wake of tensions between Barr and Trump – who have widely been seen as close allies.
On Tuesday, he posted that Stone deserved a new trial after being convicted of witness tampering and obstruction
Trump tweeted out a quote from a Fox News contributor which called upon the Judge in Stone’s case – Amy Berman Jackson – to order the new trial.
Last Thursday, Barr took a swipe at the President in a television interview, saying that Trump’s tweeting about Justice Department cases and staffers make it ‘impossible’ for him to do his job.
On Friday, Trump ignored Barr’s request to curb his social media use and insisted that he has the ‘legal right’ to intervene in criminal cases and sidestep the Justice Department’s historical independence.
He has continued to tweet about various DoJ cases – including the impending sentencing of his confidante Roger Stone.
The Justice Department denied the report claiming that Barr is threatening to quit as Attorney General if President Trump fails to stop tweeting about Department investigations.
On Feruary 18, Trump suggesred that he would sue his own government for investigating him
Taking to Twittter on Tuesday night, DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupe stated: ‘Addressing Beltway rumors: The Attorney General has no plans to resign.’
‘Judge Jackson now has a request for a new trial based on the unambiguous & self outed bias of the foreperson of the jury, whose (sic) also a lawyer, by the way,’ the tweet blasted.
The move is said to have angered Barr, but as of Tuesday night, he is still Attorney General, and several sources told The Washington Post that he would not make any ‘hasty decision to leave’.
The sources said that Barr would resist making such a ‘dramatic step’.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump conceded that his tweets do make Barr’s job harder.
‘I do make his job harder, yes, I do agree with that. I think that’s true,’ Trump stated, despite continuing to send out the public posts.
Barr, who is serving in his second stint as Attorney General, has sought to paint himself as an independent leader who would not bow to political pressure
He went on to attempt to diffuse any reports of tension between himself and Barr, praising the AG.
‘He’s a very straight shooter. We have a great attorney general and he’s working very hard. He’s working against a lot of people that don’t want to see good things happen, in my opinion,’ Trump said, casting Barr as an ally against people he deems rogue prosecutors. ‘That’s my opinion, not his opinion. You’ll have to ask what his opinion is,’ Trump added.
Trump defended his use of social media, and continues to believe Twitter was key to his election and governing.
‘It gives me a voice,’ he said of his tweets.
‘I do make his job harder, yes, I do agree with that, President Trump said of Attorney General Bill Barr
He hailed Barr’s integrity and defended his right to be involved in cases – on a day he announced a flurry of pardons and commutations, including one for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who got sent to prison for seeking to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat.
‘I’m allowed to be totally involved,’ Trump said before leaving Washington for a West Coast swing.
‘I’m actually, I guess, the chief law enforcement officer of the country. But I’ve chosen not to be involved. But he is a man of great integrity. But I could be involved if I wanted to be,’ he said, picking up a line he also used last week amid a furor over his comments about the Stone case.
Barr is pictured during an interview with ABC News last week where he hit out at Trump for tweeting about ongoing DoJ cases
Barr, who is serving in his second stint as Attorney General, has sought to paint himself as an independent leader who would not bow to political pressure.
However, Democrats have repeatedly accused Barr of acting more like the president’s personal attorney than the attorney general. Barr proved to be a largely reliable Trump ally and defender of presidential power.
But last Thursday, during an ABC News interview, Barr blasted Trump’s tendency to tweet about DoJ cases, stating: ‘I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases’.
‘I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.’
Barr’s comments came just after Trump had tweeted his fury at a demand his pal Stone be jailed for up to nine years.
Stone was convicted of witness tampering and lying to Congress about his contacts with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign, when he was an informal Trump advisor.
A message followed hours later by anonymous senior Justice Department officials called it ‘excessive’ and all four prosecutors on the case quitting later that day. Democrats called for an urgent investigation into whether Trump intervened in a live criminal case.
Barr denied being influenced, and called for the president to stop tweeting.
‘I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody … whether it’s Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president,’ Barr told ABC News in an interview.
‘I’m going to do what I think is right. And you know … I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me,’ he said.
Barr said his actions in the case of the Roger Stone case had ‘nothing to do with the president’.
Barr says he already had spoken to staff about the Stone sentencing recommendation – which he indicated was too severe – before the president’s early morning tweet. But the public blast put him in a bad position.
‘Do you go forward with what you think is the right decision or do you pull back because of the tweet? And that just sort of illustrates how disruptive these tweets can be,’ he fretted.
Trump last week tweeted his fury at a demand his pal Stone be jailed for up to nine years
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham responded that Trump was fine with the comments – while defending his right to speak his mind.
‘The President wasn’t bothered by the comments at all and he has the right, just like any American citizen, to publicly offer his opinions,’ she said.
‘President Trump uses social media very effectively to fight for the American people against injustices in our country, including the fake news. The President has full faith and confidence in Attorney General Barr to do his job and uphold the law,’ she said, CBS reported.
A crooked police commissioner and a governor who tried to shake down a children’s hospital: Who’s Who of Donald Trump’s pardon spree
Michael Milken
Financier Michael Milken is known for pioneering high-yield ‘junk’ bonds.
In March 1989, a federal grand jury indicted Milken on 98 counts of and fraud and he pleaded guilty to six counts of securities and tax violation.
Milken, 73, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his crimes while heading the bond department at the investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, and fined $600 million.
His sentence was later reduced to two years after he cooperated with federal authorities.
Trump praised Milken’s work on cancer research, saying he ‘has gone around and done an incredible job for the world with all of his research on cancer.’
Milken survived prostate cancer and co-founded the Milken Family Foundation and is chairman of the Milken Institute – the charities fund research into melanoma, cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Bernard Kerick
Kerik was appointed New York police commissioner by Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who is now Trump’s personal attorney.
In June 2006, Kerik pleaded guilty in Bronx Supreme Court to two ethics violations.
Kerik acknowledged that during the time he was Interior Minister of Iraq – under President George W. Bush – he accepted a $250,000 interest-free ‘loan’ from Israeli billionaire Eitan Wertheimer and failed to report it.
In November 2007, Kerik was indicted by a federal grand jury in White Plains, New York on charges of tax fraud, and making false statements to the federal government about the loan.
He later pleaded guilty to eight felony tax and false statement charges and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release. That time concluded in October 2016.
Rod Blagojevich
Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, was sent to prison for 14 years for soliciting bribes, including those for the Senate seat once held by Barack Obama and for trying to shake down a children’s hospital.
Blagojevich threatened to revoke funds to Children’s Memorial Hospital after its chief executive officer did not give a $50,000 contribution to the governor’s campaign.
The 63-year-old has been in the Federal Correctional Institution in Englewood, Colorado, since March 15, 2012.
His expected release date was 2024, factoring in two years of credit for good behavior.
In 2009, Blagojevich appeared on NBC’s ‘The Apprentice,’ the reality TV show then hosted by Trump.
Edward DeBartolo
The former San Francisco 49ers owner paid $400,000 to former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards to help win a riverboat casino license in 1998.
He pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to report a felony, and received a $1million fine and two years of probation.
He stepped down as owner in 1997 after two Louisiana newspapers reported he would be indicted for gambling fraud. He was also suspended for a year by the NFL.
DeBartolo owned the 49ers for 23 years and won five Super Bowls as their owner.