After yesterday’s shameful performance in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and after today’s refusal to appear before the House Judiciary Committee, there are calls from many Democrats for William Barr’s resignation or impeachment.
While such demands are justified (the man flat-out lied to the American people and to Congress about the Mueller report) neither of these avenues will get rid of Barr.
William Barr will not resign. After all, he is doing exactly what he was hired to do … be Trump’s “Roy Cohn.” Said Trump during an interview on Fox Business, “He did a fantastic job today, I’m told. I got to see some of it. He did a fantastic job.”
Impeachment would almost certainly be a dead end. The same rules apply for impeaching an attorney general as for a president. The House starts the proceedings; the Senate votes to remove. The only difference is that the trial in the Senate would be presided over by the Vice President instead of the Chief Justice.
While many legal scholars agree that Barr’s knowing misrepresentation of the Mueller report’s findings and his lying to Congress rise to the level of impeachable offenses, many believe the Republican-controlled Senate would never vote to remove him. Harvard constitutional law professor, Laurence Tribe, doesn’t believe the process will ever get started. Said Tribe, “While Barr’s behavior ‘might in theory’ warrant calls for removal, it ‘seems exceedingly unlikely’.”
A far better and more effective way of getting rid of the man who has no business being the people’s attorney is through disbarment.
While the Attorney General need not be a licensed lawyer to hold the position, necessity requires it. Two main duties of the Attorney General are to: 1. Represent the United States in all legal matters and 2. Furnish advice and opinions, formal and informal, on legal matters to the President and the Cabinet and to the heads of the executive departments and agencies of the government, as provided by law.
In order to represent the United States in legal matters and/or to provide legal advice, the Attorney General must be qualified to do so. In the U.S., in order to provide legal advice, you need to be a licensed attorney.
Needtoimpeach.com has started an online petition calling for Barr’s disbarment:
Attorney General William Barr knowingly misled the public and Congress about the Mueller investigation’s findings, in direct violation of Rule 4.1 of the Virginia State Bar. Barr’s conduct warrants disbarment.
This seems to be the most practical way of ridding our government of this Trump sycophant and legal hack.
Photo | nbcboston.com
Breaking News … Two Dems push D.C., Virginia bar associations to investigate Barr