Attorney General William Barr lambasted lower level attorneys within the Department of Justice (DOJ) as he dismissed the idea of them having any authority to have input on how the federal agency is run.
Barr delivered a speech on Wednesday evening at Hillsdale College in honor of Constitution Day.
Describing his own prosecutors as a “permanent bureaucracy,” Barr insisted that there is often an abuse of power in which lower-level prosecutors have taken aim at high-profile targets — a practice he believes has made them similar to “headhunters.”
Barr also compared his lower-level attorneys to Montessori preschoolers. According to Barr, line prosecutors should not be allowed to make final decisions.
“Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it’s no way to run a federal agency,” Barr said during his speech. “The notion that line prosecutors should make the final decisions at the Department of Justice is completely crazy.”
See Barr’s remarks below:
Attorney General William Barr slammed hundreds of DOJ prosecutors working beneath him, equating them to preschoolers. pic.twitter.com/gAHZDPH7iy
— CNN Early Start with Kasie Hunt (@EarlyStart) September 17, 2020
Barr’s latest remarks come amid heightened criticism due to his presumed and unwavering loyalty to President Donald Trump. Critics fear Barr is eroding the independence of the Justice Department.
In fact, the president’s former fixer and personal attorney Michael Cohen was also asked who he believes is Trump’s current “fixer.”
Cohen pointed the finger at Barr. During an appearance on CNN’s “New Day,” Cohen weighed in on his expectations of the upcoming general election as he mentioned Barr.
Even if Trump does lose the election, Cohen believes the president, presumably with the help of Barr, will contest the results.
“When he ultimately loses because all the ballots come in, assuming that they’re properly counted, then he’s going to contest it,” Cohen said to CNN host Alyson Camerota. “He’s got Attorney General Bill Barr that’s sycophant number one.”
