WASHINGTON _ Attorney General William Barr threw his Justice Department into turmoil this week as he seized control of cases tied to Donald Trump, risking a rebellion within the ranks, and publicly criticized the president amid accusations both men have politicized America's top law enforcement agency.
In the span of five days, Barr revealed that he's established a private channel for Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to relay his allegations on Ukraine and ordered prosecutors to reduce their sentencing recommendation for Trump associate Roger Stone. News also surfaced that Barr has moved to review the prosecution of Michael Flynn, the president's first national security adviser.
At week's end, the Justice Department's reputation for independence was under siege in a way it hadn't seen since Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. Barr had managed to take steps that seemed likely to anger everyone from Trump to Democrats and Justice Department career prosecutors.
"The history of the department, when it's written, will have two parts _ before Trump and after Trump," said Patrick Cotter, a former federal prosecutor. "This is the hinge."
After the beleaguered tenure of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Barr will have the biggest hand in shaping that history. Having helped Trump navigate through a special counsel probe of Russian election interference and an impeachment crisis, Barr now faces the biggest test of his leadership since taking over one year ago.
Critics, including former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, who was fired by Trump weeks into his presidency, said the department's reputation for independence built on the ashes of the Watergate scandal in the 1970s was being demolished.
"The Justice Department is not a tool of any president to be used for retribution or camouflage," Yates wrote Friday in the Washington Post. "From virtually the moment he took office, President Trump has attempted to use the Justice Department as a cudgel against his enemies and as a shield for himself and his allies."
Adding to the week's controversies _ and confusion _ Barr issued a rare public rebuke of Trump on Thursday over the president's constant tweets and comments about Justice Department cases, saying he can't perform his duties if he appears to be politically influenced.
"I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me," Barr said in an interview Thursday with ABC News. "It's time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases."
And the department announced Friday that it won't prosecute former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, despite Trump's repeated demands to go after him.
