Donald Trump Incorrectly Claims He’s The ‘Chief Law Enforcement Officer’ Of U.S. As He Goes On Pardon Spree
Donald Trump has taken heat in recent days for allegedly interfering in Roger Stone’s court case. Adding to that, on Tuesday, the president issued numerous pardons for public figures such as Rod Blagojevich and Eddie DeBartolo Jr. In a seeming defense of his actions, Trump told reporters that he was the “chief law enforcement officer of the country.”
According to a video posted on Twitter by Vox reporter Aaron Rupar, Trump was asked by reporters as he was departing to California whether he had asked Attorney General William Barr to step in and reduce the sentence for Stone, a longtime Trump associate. In response, he said that he hadn’t directed Barr, but that he may do something of that nature in the future.
“I’m actually, I guess, the chief law enforcement officer of the country. But I’ve chosen not to be involved,” he said. “I could be involved if I wanted to be.”
The attorney general is usually referred to as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, while the president is the commander-in-chief of the military. Historically, the White House and Department of Justice have long maintained a wall between them in order to prevent the appearance of impropriety.
While the DOJ may advise the president about issues facing the department, the attorney general does not traditionally work with the president to determine sentencing and which cases to intervene in.
But recently, Trump wrote a tweet complaining about the recommended sentence for Stone, who was convicted of obstructing Congress and witness tampering. Shortly after the tweet, Barr intervened to have Stone’s jail time reduced. After the intervention, the president congratulated the attorney general on the decision.
While both Barr and Trump maintain that they didn’t work together, many critics have raised concerns about the appearance of the matter, and the four attorneys prosecuting Stone resigned from the case in protest. One left the DOJ altogether.
Since then, thousands of Department of Justice officials have signed on to an open letter calling for Barr’s resignation.
Trump was asked to weigh on his decision to commute the sentence for Blagojevich, who was found guilty of corruption for trying to sell former President Barack Obama’s Senate seat and has served more than half of a 14-year sentence. Blagojevich was a former contestant on Trump’s reality series The Apprentice.
“It was a prosecution by the same people — [James] Comey, [Patrick Fitzgerald] — the same group,” Trump claimed, defending his decision.
The president also pardoned ex-49ers owner DeBartolo Jr., who was convicted of gambling fraud.
A few NFL all timers at the White House today, as President Trump announced an executive action granting full pardon to Edward Debartolo Jr. pic.twitter.com/Kf6HdWWa7u
— @skylerhenry (@SkylerHenry) February 18, 2020
