(CNN)More than 1,110 former Justice Department officials who served in Republican as well as Democratic administrations
posted a statement Sunday calling on Attorney General Bill Barr to resign.
"Mr. Barr's actions in doing the President's personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words. Those actions, and the damage they have done to the Department of Justice's reputation for integrity and the rule of law, require Mr. Barr to resign. But because we have little expectation he will do so, it falls to the Department's career officials to take appropriate action to uphold their oaths of office and defend nonpartisan, apolitical justice," the officials wrote in a statement.
The rare statement from the officials --
mostly former career prosecutors, but also some former political appointees -- came in the wake of an extraordinary week at the Justice Department. In just one week, career prosecutors withdrew from a case after Barr overruled their sentencing recommendation, the attorney general pushed back against the President in an unusual interview and
separately ordered an examination of politically charged cases involving those close to President Donald Trump.
The statement went on to say career attorneys should report any troubling actions they see to the department's Inspector General.
The Justice Department declined to comment when reached by CNN Sunday. Barr has so far not given any indication that he is considering stepping down from his current role.
Thats vague I doubt it means 100 percent. A lot of them are DOJ s, I have been told bys everal of you REpublicans that DOJ 's are on your side. DId you lie to me?
Attorney general's actions spark outrage and unease among US prosecutors
Th upheaval at the Justice Department began when all four federal prosecutors who took the case against Roger Stone to trial withdrew from the case Tuesday afternoon after Barr overruled their sentencing recommendation hours after the President criticized it on Twitter.
Barr on Thursday claimed he couldn't do his job with Trump publicly commenting on sensitive investigations, but insisted the Justice Department had acted appropriately, and, without explanation, suggested prosecutors' recommended sentence for Stone was too harsh.
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