It’s very rare for anyone within the Trump administration to criticize their boss – so rare, that when Attorney General Bill Barr spoke to ABC, they broke into regular programming. What was discussed? The decisions in the Roger Stone case...and President Trump’s tweets.
For one thing, Barr maintains that while President Trump may have tweeted about the Stone sentencing recommendation, but it had nothing to do with his stepping in. As we’ve been telling you, Barr stepped in when his team requested a seven- to nine-year jail term. This came after Trump took to Twitter to slam the situation his longtime friend was facing.
Barr says he’d actually made the decision to reduce the request prior to Trump’s tweets, but that the optics are simply a matter of bad timing. And that, is something Barr says Trump would manage better. Barr told ABC that Trump’s tweets about the Justice Department "make it impossible" for him to do his job. And despite the President's public commentary, he claims Trump has never asked him to do anything about a criminal case. He added, “I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases.”
What’s the White House reaction? According to his spokeswoman, President Trump isn't bothered by Barr’s comments. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tells CBS News that Trump has the right to publicly offer his opinions and that he uses social media to "fight for the American people" against injustices. She also noted Trump has "full faith and confidence" in Barr to do his job.
Speaking of the President’s legal issues... President Trump says he’s thinking about preventing members of his administration from listening-in on his phone calls with foreign leaders. During an interview with Geraldo Rivera, Trump said it's a longstanding practice but added – "I may end the practice entirely." Trump's call with the president of Ukraine last year led to his impeachment by the House...he was recently acquitted by the Republican-led House.
Source: ABC News