William Barr Faces Calls For Disbarment, His Own Impeachment, Over His Latest Trump Defense
Attorney General William Barr is facing calls for his own impeachment, and possible disbarment, over a speech he gave to a conservative group in which he called the Democrats’ push for impeachment a “dangerous holy mission,” HuffPost reports.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, this week Barr gave a speech to the conservative Federalist Society, during which he made several statements that have raised eyebrows.
For example, he accused Democrats of staging a “scorched-earth, no-holds-barred war of Resistance against this administration… a systematic shredding of norms and undermining the rule of law.” Elsewhere in his speech, he accused elements within the legislative and judicial branches of the government of trying to portray themselves as “the good guys,” protecting the country from “a rapacious, would-be autocrat,” and accused Trump’s opponents of carrying out attacks on the president’s “executive authority.”
Barr is now facing calls for his own impeachment, and possibly his disbarment, over his speech.
New Jersey Democrat Bill Pascrell, for example, accused Barr of suggesting that Trump should have “king-like powers.”
“Barr is a liar and a fanatic and should be impeached and stripped of his law licenses,” he tweeted.
Former Southern District of New York federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah didn’t mention impeachment or disbarment, but did chastise Barr for acting in a partisan way.
This is so outrageously inappropriate for an AG to be saying. You are the head of the DOJ for all Americans not just the ones in the Federalist Society. Please start acting like it. https://t.co/OcaHZGi0ey
— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) November 16, 2019
Can Barr Be Impeached For This?
The process for impeaching a federal official is laid out in the Constitution, and it is the same process as it is for the president: namely, that the House of Representatives would vote on Articles of Impeachment, which any voting member of the House can bring to the floor for a vote. If approved by a simple majority vote, the impeached public figure, in this case Barr (hypothetically), would go to the Senate for a trial, where it would take a two-thirds majority vote to remove him from office.
As is the case with the impeachment process for the president, it can be initiated for almost any reason, as the Constitution puts few limits on what can and cannot be impeachable offenses.
No Attorney General of the U.S. has ever been impeached.
Can He Be Disbarred For This?
Barr is registered with the District of Columbia Bar Association, which does have the power to discipline any of its members. The options for discipline include “informal admonition” on up to full disbarment, and everything in between.
However, for the association to take such action against Barr would first require a formal complaint to be filed. Following, a decision would have to be made on whether or not his actions violated the association’s Code of Conduct.
