NYC Bar Association: William Barr Should Recuse Himself From DOJ Ukraine Probe

The New York City Bar Association released a statement on Wednesday urging Attorney General William Barr to recuse himself from the Department of Justice’s Ukraine investigation. “The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has a unique role in safeguarding the rule of law under the Constitution. By failing to recuse himself from DOJ’s review of the Ukraine Matter, Attorney General William P. Barr has undermined that role,” reads the statement’s summary. “To help remedy that failure, the New York City Bar Association urges that Mr. Barr recuse himself from any ongoing or future review by DOJ of Ukraine-related issues in which Mr. Barr is allegedly involved. If he fails to do so, he should resign or, failing that, be subject to sanctions, including possible removal, by Congress.”

Barr is in charge of the Justice Department, but he has also been directly implicated in the Ukraine scandal surrounding the Trump administration that is being investigated by the DOJ. This conflict of interest appeared to be in action when the department attempted to suppress the whistleblower complaint against the president—which names Barr as a key player in the alleged quid pro quo with Ukraine—by advising the acting director of national intelligence that the document should not be disclosed to Congress. The association writes that Barr’s actions “have demonstrated to us that, contrary to the responsibilities of his office, he appears to view his primary obligation as loyalty to the President individually rather than to the nation.”