A Trump impeachment defense lawyer chided the president for tweeting his congratulations to Attorney General William Barr for “taking charge” of the case against his longtime associate Roger Stone.
Attorney Robert Ray, who served on the White House defense team during President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, joined radio show The Cats Roundtable on Sunday and weighed in on Trump’s tweet, saying it “complicated things.”
“I do think that the attorney general … did send a strong message that when you have sensitive matters like a sentencing before a court where someone’s liberty is at stake, it’s important that the executive branch speak with one voice,” he said. “I think that the president’s tweets under the circumstances complicated things and … are better left for a time that is not so sensitive.”
Last week, the Department of Justice announced that it plans to scale back Stone’s sentencing recommendation after prosecutors initially called for him to serve seven to nine years in prison for obstruction, witness tampering, and lying to Congress. Following the announcement, the four U.S. prosecutors assigned to the case resigned in protest while Trump tweeted, “Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought.”
The president faced backlash from Democrats over the tweet, with some suggesting he could be impeached a second time for allowing the DOJ to intervene in the Stone case. Barr himself criticized Trump for the tweet, saying the president’s social media use makes it “impossible for me to do my job.” Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy also scolded Trump, adding, “This is a case where tweeting less would not cause brain damage.”
