Watchdog Group Demands Ethics Probe For Bill Barr

Just in via press release:

The Inspector General of the Department of Justice should investigate whether Attorney General William Barr violated federal ethics laws and principles by participating in matters related to allegations in the Ukraine whistleblower complaint, according to a letter sent today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

While Attorney General Barr was directly implicated in the complaint, he does not appear to have recused from DOJ matters related to it, which likely would violate conflict of interest laws and possibly bias DOJ action on the complaint.

“Once again, we have no choice but to question whether Attorney General Barr’s loyalty lies with his responsibility to the American people, or with his political ties to the President and his own self interest,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder.

“It should be a no brainer that an Attorney General personally implicated in a complaint should recuse from anything related to that complaint, and Barr’s apparent failure to do so severely undermines the Justice Department’s ability to enforce the law with integrity and independence.”