AG William Barr Will Testify Before House Judiciary Committee About Intervening in Roger Stone's Sentencing

https://www.newsweek.com/ag-william-barr-will-testify-before-house-judiciary-committee-about-intervening-roger-stones-1487083

 In a letter sent to Barr on Wednesday, the House committee confirmed the attorney general's "agreement to testify" on March 31, 2020. "Since President Trump took office, we have repeatedly warned you and your predecessors that the misuse of our criminal justice system for political purposes is both dangerous to our democracy and unacceptable to the House Judiciary Committee," the lawmakers wrote. "Our Republican colleagues have warned the Department of the same."

Barr has faced significant criticism from Democrats and Trump critics in the past 24 hours over the Department of Justice's (DOJ) handling of Stone's criminal case. Hours after four prosecutors recommended a seven to nine year sentence for the longtime Trump associate on Monday night, the president railed against the decision, calling it "very horrible and unfair." Following his remarks, the DOJ publicly announced their intention to back away from the lengthy recommendation and instead seek a lower sentence.

It is rare for the DOJ to overturn recommendations made by their own prosecutors, which had already been lodged with the courts. In response, all four career prosecutors involved in Stone's case—Jonathan Kravis, Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, Adam Jed and Michael Marando—requested to withdraw from the proceedings, with one resigning from the department.