This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Donald Trump praised his attorney general, William Barr, on Wednesday morning, one day after the nation’s top law official recommended cutting the suggested sentence of Trump campaign operative Roger Stone, a move that triggered the resignations of the four prosecutors in the case.

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“Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought,” the president tweeted early on Wednesday. “Evidence now clearly shows that the Mueller Scam was improperly brought & tainted. Even Bob Mueller lied to Congress!” Trump provided no evidence for this claim.

Trump was referring to the special counsel Robert Mueller, who conducted the investigation into allegations that the Trump 2016 election campaign conspired with Russia to sway the vote, which concluded last year.

Stone, who was found guilty last November of seven crimes including obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering, faces up to seven to nine years in prison at his upcoming sentencing next week for what prosecutors described as “contempt for this court and the rule of law”.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought. Evidence now clearly shows that the Mueller Scam was improperly brought & tainted. Even Bob Mueller lied to Congress!

But on Tuesday Trump claimed without evidence that “the real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!”

Hours later, a new justice department court filing cut the prosecutor’s sentence recommendation and sought to rebut their arguments, suggesting that the proposed sentence was too harsh.

Four lawyers who prosecuted Stone, a 67-year-old political operative and a self-described dirty trickster and the sixth former Trump aide to be convicted in cases triggered by Mueller’s Russia investigation, then resigned in protest.

Aaron Zelinsky, Jonathan Kravis, Adam Jed and Michael Marando quit the case while Democrats demanded an independent investigation into what they described as a dangerously politicised and corrupt justice department.

The former attorney general Eric Holder attacked the effort to undercut the prosecutors, posting on Twitter: “Jonathan Kravis, Aaron Zelinsky, Adam Jed and Michael Marando – Department of Justice heroes. I support them and all of the men and women of goodwill at DOJ. Be tough. Do not compromise your values; there can be no compromise with those who act corruptly.”

The Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren accused Trump of “shredding the rule of law in this country”.

The Massachusetts senator tweeted: “His AG overruled career prosecutors to reduce the sentence for his buddy Roger Stone after Stone committed crimes to protect him. Every Republican who voted to acquit Trump for his corrupt actions enabled and owns this.”

She continued: “Donald Trump can continue his corrupt rampages and vendettas because elected Republicans do nothing. They lack the courage and backbone shown by four career prosecutors who stepped down rather than facilitate the Attorney General’s corrupt scheme. But we are not powerless.”

The growing controversy raises fresh questions over the role of Barr, the attorney general who has been criticized as a partisan Trump loyalist. Barr has proved a fierce defender of Trump, even claiming that Mueller’s investigation exonerated the president when the final report suggested otherwise.

In the justice department filing, officials argued that the proposed sentence “would not be appropriate or serve the interests of justice in this case”.

Among the mitigating factors, it contended, are Stone’s “advanced age, health, personal circumstances and lack of criminal history”.

On Wednesday morning, Trump further tweeted that Stone’s proposed sentence compared unfavorably to a shorter sentence handed down in 2018 to an unnamed “Swamp Creature”, thought to refer to James Wolfe, a former Senate staffer convicted of lying to the FBI. Trump also referenced Fox News in the tweet.

Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) “Swamp Creature” is James Wolfe - the former Senate Intel staffer who was sentenced to two months in Dec 2018 for lying to the FBI https://t.co/uSoNYfBrw1

Speaking in the Oval Office, according to a pool report, Trump denied speaking to the justice department about the case but claimed that he would have “the absolute right” to do so.

Trump said of the prosecutors: “They ought to be ashamed of themselves … I think it’s been disgraceful.” He declined to say whether he might consider commuting Stone’s sentence.

On Monday, Barr appeared to follow Trump’s lead when he confirmed that the justice department would consider material sourced by Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, on what Trump and his lawyer have claimed points to corrupt activities concerning Joe Biden and his family in Ukraine.

Despite claims that Giuliani was being treated no different than any other informant, Barr confirmed that the justice department had “created a process that Rudy could give information and they would see if it’s verified”.

Assertion of a Giuliani-justice department “intake process”, potentially a continuation of the issue that lead to Trump’s impeachment trial and acquittal last month, were first made on Sunday by the South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham.

According to NBC News, justice department officials also intervened last month to help change sentencing recommendations for Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Prosecutors had recommended up to six months, but their latest court filing recommends probation.



Monday’s filing in the Stone case came as Jessica Liu, the investigator overseeing a criminal investigation into former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, was replaced by a former prosecutor selected by Barr.

McCabe, who was accused by the justice department’s inspector general of lying to investigators, prompting calls for prison time from Trump, has not been charged.