4 Former D.C. Bar Association Presidents Call For Disbarment Investigation Of Attorney General Bill Barr

A 40-page letter signed by four former presidents of the District of Columbia Bar Association calls for Attorney General William Barr to be investigated. If Barr is found to have violated the organization’s rules, the D.C. Bar has the authority to revoke his law license.

The 27 signatories include lawyers, professors and Andrea Ferster, Philip Allen Lacovara, Marna Tucker and Melvin White – the four former presidents of the D.C. Bar.

“Mr. Barr’s client is the United States, and not the president,” the letter says. “Yet, Mr. Barr has consistently made decisions and taken action to serve the personal and political self-interests of President Donald Trump, rather than the interest of the United States.”

The letter alleges Barr violated Washington’s ethics policies multiple times, noting his response to former Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s report on Russian election interference, his criticism of the inspector general report clearing the Russia investigation of being politically motivated, and his role in aggressively clearing peaceful protesters in D.C. to clear the way for a photo op for the president.

The letter also criticizes Barr for breaking with the longstanding tradition of not speaking out about ongoing investigations, and suggested he broke the D.C. Bar’s rules when he said former FBI officials involved in the Russia probe could be prosecuted.

“Indeed, the notion that the legitimacy of an FBI investigation’s initiation should be judged by its end, if applied broadly, could easily chill the initiation of wholly legitimate inquiries for fear of being second-guessed,” the letter adds.

The letter also complains that Barr’s comments that the FBI opened the Russia probe on “very flimsy” evidence are dishonest. Mueller’s report did indeed find that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election, but did not find evidence the Trump campaign had colluded with them.

Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec recently told Fox News that Durham is expected to issue a report by summer’s end. “There are no guarantees in life, but we certainly hope to see one by the end of the summer. I think it’s important,” she said.

Bar associations can take years to review disciplinary complaints, and their processes are kept confidential.