Trump administration officials invoked the unitary executive theory to assert direct presidential control over Department of Justice prosecutorial decisions, reversing decades of DOJ independence norms. The administration cited the Supreme Court’s Trump v. United States immunity ruling, which …
Donald TrumpMichael C. DorfDepartment of JusticeHeritage Foundationexecutive-overreachdoj-politicizationconstitutional-crisisinstitutional-captureunitary-executive-theory+1 more
Attorney General William Barr released a four-page letter to Congress purporting to summarize the 448-page Mueller Report’s “principal conclusions” just 48 hours after receiving it. Barr’s summary fundamentally mischaracterized the report’s findings on obstruction of …
William BarrRobert MuellerDonald TrumpRod RosensteinMueller InvestigationObstruction of JusticeAttorney General CorruptionDisinformationAccountability Crisis+1 more
William Barr’s confirmation as Attorney General represents the systematic implementation of WHIG template for crisis-accelerated institutional capture, transforming the Department of Justice from independent law enforcement into executive political weapon for constitutional crisis …
William BarrDonald TrumpSenate Judiciary CommitteeDepartment of JusticeTrump Administration+5 moredoj-politicizationwhig-template-implementationsystematic-institutional-capturecrisis-accelerated-captureexecutive-immunity-institutionalization+4 more
President Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates within hours of her instructing Justice Department attorneys not to defend Executive Order 13769 (the Muslim ban). Yates had sent a letter to DOJ staff stating she was “not convinced that the defense of the Executive Order is consistent …
Donald TrumpSally YatesDana BoenteJeff SessionsRudy Giulianirule-of-lawdoj-politicizationobstruction-of-justiceauthoritarianismmuslim-ban+1 more
Monica Goodling, White House liaison and senior counsel to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, testified under immunity that she violated federal law by applying political loyalty tests to career Justice Department positions. A 1999 graduate of Pat Robertson’s Regent University Law School, …