MISCONDUCT IN THE RULE OF LAW

On Tuesday (28) afternoon, the United States of America’s Attorney General (A.G.) William Barr testified before the House Judiciary Committee in response to repeated and adamant accusations by the Democratic Party asserting that A.G. Barr has failed to uphold the Rule of Law during his management of the Department of Justice. However, as the Democratic party continuously berated A.G. Barr, calling it “testifying” would be to flagrantly disregard the evident reality that the hearing simply proved to be rather a guise, as they discredited A.G. Barr, without merit or any opportunity for him to give a meaningful response.

To begin, the Rule of Law demands that every accusation and conviction be founded in evidence. Yet, the entire hearing was riddled with similar and several instances of hypocrisy. Most obviously, Chairman Nadler implicitly chastised President Trump for “utterly humiliating his first Attorney General”, while pursuing every effort to do the same to A.G. Barr. He attacked virtually every act A.G. Barr could or has made, with accusations spanning from A.G. Barr’s supposed aiding and abetting of the “worst failings of the President”, to “hiding behind a legal fiction”, both of which are definitive statements that were never in fact expanded upon or supported. Furthermore, the Rule of Law demands that every individual facing trial be given the opportunity to respond to the charges laid against him or her. Yet, once again, A.G. Barr’s rights were repeatedly violated, as Democratic Representatives, including Chairman Nadler, continued to deny the Attorney General of any opportunity to clarify such statements.

In reference to the Black Lives Matter Movement, Chairman Nadler claimed that under A.G. Barr’s leadership, the Department of Justice violated the rights of American citizen’s by “flooding federal law enforcements into the streets of American cities” to “unconstitutionally suppress dissent.” Hypocritically, Chairman Nadler attempted to then silence A.G. Barr’s rebuttal with the brazen, distasteful proclamation, “Shame on You!”. However, when finally given the opportunity to reply, A.G. Barr drew the clear distinction between peaceful protests, which have been allowed to occur uninhibited, and destructive mobbing.

As such, A.G. Barr’s decision to call in state troopers to contain the violent acts that have occurred during Black Lives Matter protests was in full pursuit of the Rule of Law by seeking to end the illegal and destructive acts instigated by hijackers of such movement. To emphasize, the Rule of Law upheld in court does not condone police officers being injured, blinded, or killed without retribution, nor does it allow for the use of explosives and the destruction of churches or federal buildings in the name of protesting. Therefore, instead of voicing concern for how A.G. Barr runs the Department of Justice, Democratic Committee members should have been condemning the mob violence and attacks on Federal courts that

A.G. Barr has been working to contain.

Last, A.G. Barr was accused to have “personally interfered with ongoing criminal investigations to protect the President and his friends in contravention of the Rule of Law at the cost of Justice”. Such allegation was made in reference to A.G. Barr’s sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone. Yet, as the Democratic Representative Deutch further argued that justice demanded for A.G Barr to advocate for a harsher sentence for Roger Stone, who was referred to as “a friend to President Donald Trump”, Rep. Deutch, himself failed to uphold such responsibility; as the Rule of Law necessarily demands that all citizens face the same treatment, and not harsher punishment simply due to their relationship with the President.

To conclude, despite the efforts of Democratic Representatives to establish that A.G. Barr ignored the fundamental principles of justice, it is evident by the statements and actions of A.G. Barr that he consistently acted in pursuit of the rule of law, and protected the American people against violent, illegal acts of destruction. As stated by A.G. Barr, “It is the unique obligation of the Attorney General of the United States of America to ensure there is one standard of Justice that applies equally to everyone”. Thus, regardless of the unpopularity of his decisions, A.G. Barr has met his obligation as Attorney General to uphold justice.

In the words of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “if civilization is to survive, it must choose the rule of law.”

E. Paris Cicinyte, International Affairs Consultant