Exfuncionarios del departamento de justiciar piden renuncia de William Barr
/⇣ English translation provided at the end ⇣
En una carta compartida por medios piden la dimisión de Barr alegando que sus decisiones han causado daño "a la reputación del Departamento de Justicia, hacia su integridad y al Estado de Derecho". Sin embargo, reconocen tener pocas esperanzas de que Barr dé un paso al frente y abandone su cargo.
Exfuncionarios del Departamento de Justicia de EEUU pidieron en una carta pública al fiscal general, William Barr, que renuncie a raíz del manejo del caso de Roger Stone, un estrecho excolaborador del presidente Donald Trump declarado culpable de siete cargos por la llamada trama rusa.
La misiva, cuyos extractos fueron publicados este domingo por medios locales, fue firmada por más de 1,100 exfiscales federales y exfuncionarios.
"Las acciones del señor Barr al obedecer las órdenes personales del presidente, lamentablemente hablan más que sus palabras", puntualiza la carta citada por The Washington Post.
Los exempleados señalan que "esas acciones y el daño que han hecho a la reputación del Departamento de Justicia, hacia su integridad y al Estado de Derecho, requieren que el señor Barr renuncie."
Y al reconocer que tienen "pocas expectativas" de que el fiscal general abandone su cargo, señalan que "corresponde a los funcionarios de carrera del Departamento tomar las medidas apropiadas" para defender una justicia "apolítica y no partidista".
El diario The New York Times indicó que una portavoz del Departamento de Justicia declinó hacer comentarios al respecto.
La petición se conoce después de que cuatro fiscales que llevaban el caso judicial contra Stone tramitaron el pasado martes su renuncia luego de que Trump criticara la pena que habían pedido para su exasesor y de que el Departamento de Justicia recomendara rebajarla.
Uno de los fiscales, Jonathan Kravis, escribió en un documento presentado ante la corte que había dimitido como fiscal adjunto de EE.UU. y planeaba dejar el Gobierno, mientras que los otros tres implicados en el caso pidieron permiso a un juez para retirarse del proceso contra Stone, declarado culpable de siete cargos en 2019.
Los fiscales no aclararon por qué querían abandonar el caso, pero su renuncia llegó unas horas después de que el presidente calificara de "horrible y muy injusto" el plan que tenían de pedir entre siete y nueve años de cárcel para Stone, que fue un estrecho colaborador de Trump al inicio de su campaña electoral en 2015.
La declaración del fiscal general durante una entrevista con la cadena ABC no cayó en saco roto y Trump reivindicó el viernes su "derecho legal" a interferir en casos que lleva el Departamento de Justicia.
También el viernes el Departamento de Justicia reveló que no imputara al exdirector del FBI Andrew McCabe, considerado como uno de los enemigos de Trump, por mentir a los investigadores sobre una filtración periodística.
Cuando era director interino del FBI, McCabe autorizó a esta agencia a que investigara a Trump en 2017, lo que lo convirtió en blanco frecuente de la ira del mandatario en Twitter.
De igual forma, Barr ordenó ese día a fiscales externos que revisen el manejo que se ha hecho en la oficina de la Fiscalía General en Washington del caso penal contra el exasesor de seguridad nacional Michael Flynn y de otras causas, dijo el diario The New York Times.
Flynn fue una de las primeras personas en declararse culpables durante la investigación del fiscal especial Robert Mueller sobre la llamada trama rusa, que consistió en pesquisas sobre la supuesta injerencia de Moscú en los comicios presidenciales de 2016.
Google Translation
Ex-officials of the justice department ask for resignation of William Barr
In a letter shared by the media they ask for Barr's resignation on the grounds that his decisions have caused damage "to the reputation of the Department of Justice, to his integrity and to the Rule of Law." However, they acknowledge having little hope that Barr will step forward and leave office.
Former officials of the US Department of Justice asked in a public letter to the attorney general, William Barr, to resign following the handling of the case of Roger Stone, a close former collaborator of President Donald Trump convicted of seven charges for the so-called Russian plot.
The letter, whose extracts were published this Sunday by local media, was signed by more than 1,100 federal ex-prosecutors and former officials.
"Mr. Barr's actions in obeying the president's personal orders unfortunately speak louder than his words," said the letter cited by The Washington Post.
The former employees state that "those actions and the damage they have done to the reputation of the Department of Justice, to their integrity and to the rule of law, require Mr. Barr to resign."
And recognizing that they have "little expectation" that the attorney general leaves his post, they point out that "it is for the Department's career officials to take appropriate measures" to defend an "apolitical and non-partisan" justice.
The New York Times reported that a Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.
The petition is known after four prosecutors who brought the legal case against Stone last Tuesday resigned after Trump criticized the penalty they had requested for his ex-advisor and the Justice Department recommended lowering it.
One of the prosecutors, Jonathan Kravis, wrote in a document filed with the court that he had resigned as deputy US prosecutor. and planned to leave the Government, while the other three involved in the case asked a judge for permission to withdraw from the process against Stone, found guilty of seven charges in 2019.
Prosecutors did not clarify why they wanted to leave the case, but his resignation came a few hours after the president described as "horrible and very unfair" the plan they had to request between seven and nine years in jail for Stone, which was a narrow Trump's collaborator at the start of his election campaign in 2015.
The statement of the attorney general during an interview with the ABC network did not fall in a sack and Trump claimed on Friday his "legal right" to interfere in cases brought by the Department of Justice.
Also on Friday the Department of Justice revealed that he did not charge former FBI director Andrew McCabe, considered one of Trump's enemies, for lying to investigators about a journalistic leak.
When he was interim director of the FBI, McCabe authorized this agency to investigate Trump in 2017, which made him a frequent target of the president's anger on Twitter.
Likewise, Barr ordered that day to external prosecutors to review the handling that has been done in the office of the Attorney General in Washington of the criminal case against former national security ex-advisor Michael Flynn and other causes, said The New York newspaper Times
Flynn was one of the first people to plead guilty during the investigation by special prosecutor Robert Mueller about the so-called Russian plot, which consisted of inquiries into Moscow's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections.
