Washington (CNN) House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff offered a forceful rebuke of President Donald Trump's praise for the Justice Department's intervention in sentencing recommendations for longtime Trump associate Roger Stone, calling it a "direct attack" on the rule of law.

"I'm struck by the fact that it's all out in the open. I mean, we will certainly learn about what's taking place behind the scenes, the sort of clandestine effort to weigh in and help the President's friends and hurt the President's enemies," the California Democrat told CNN's David Axelrod on "The Axe Files" podcast. "But the fact that this is being done in the open in a way makes it more insidious, because it is normalizing this attack on the independence of our justice system."

The lead House impeachment manager's comments come after Trump congratulated Attorney General William Barr on Twitter for "taking charge" of the sentencing recommendation for Stone -- a stunning endorsement of the controversial and politically charged decision to reduce prosecutors' recommended sentence.

The intervention prompted the four federal prosecutors who had successfully taken Stone's case to trial to withdraw their involvement Tuesday. Stone is set to be sentenced next week for lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing a congressional committee proceeding.

"We now have a President, and an attorney general who's willing to go along with him, that is in the business of investigating political opponents. That is in the business of providing lenient sentences for those that will commit crimes to cover up for the President and try to get harsher sentences on people like Michael Cohen or others that will speak out against the President," Schiff said.

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