Today, attorney and retired judge John Gleeson filed a brief on behalf of Judge Emmet Sullivan, defending Judge Sullivan’s decision to decline to immediately drop charges against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn at the Department of Justice’s request.  Judge Sullivan’s position represents an improper encroachment on the power of the Executive. The brief is contrary to what Gleeson himself wrote while serving as a judge. In 2013, he that prosecutors have “near-absolute power” when dismissing a case unless the motion is “clearly contrary to manifest public interest.”

As nationwide unrest continues over the tragic death of George Floyd, conversations continue on how to prosecute individuals who resort to violent tactics including rioting and looting. Attorney General William Barr has suggested that the Anti-Riot Act be utilized to hold criminals who co-opt peaceful protests accountable for their destructive behavior. 

In a series of two blog posts, RNLA will detail our top 10 blog posts of 2019.  Today Numbers 10-6.  

10.  May 1: TOP MOMENTS OF BARR HEARING

Attorney General Bill Barr drives it home -"How did we get to this point? The President was falsely accused of colluding with Russians - the evidence shows those allegations are false. To listen to some of the rhetoric you’d think the Mueller Report had found the opposite."

This week, former Attorney General Eric Holder has made incredibly hypocritical comments.  While many politicians are guilty of hubris, few take it to the level that Eric Holder has done.

First, Holder attacked current Attorney General William Barr.  Holder expressed concern about Barr not being "neutral." This is especially ironic since Holder bragged he was President Obama’s "wingman."  He said this multiple times, including in 2013:  “I’m still the President’s wing-man, so I’m there with my boy.”

Last week Attorney General Bill Barr announced that the Department of Justice would resume enforcing the law regarding the federal death penalty.  As Fox News reported:

On Thursday evening, President Donald J. Trump announced that he would be issuing an executive order requiring every federal agency to furnish records relating to the number of citizens and noncitizens present in the country to the Commerce Department.

House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are voting to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. This is nothing more than political theater and a waste of Congress’ time.

This past week in the Senate could be best summarized as "justice week." Last Wednesday and again today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings for judicial nominees announced late last year, including the contentious hearing for Neomi Rao to fill Justice Kavanaugh's seat on the DC Circuit. Last Thursday, the Committee sent more than 40 judicial nominees to the Senate floor for a final confirmation vote, many of whom were holdovers from the last session of Congress thanks largely to Democrat obstruction tactics "to make the confirmation process as cumbersome as possible." And finally tomorrow, the full Senate is expected to have the final confirmation vote for Bill Barr as the next US Attorney General, after invoking cloture yesterday.

On Monday, the Walter Olson of the Cato Institute wrote about President Trump and his administration's efforts to remake the federal courts in the New York Post. He explains that every modern president has worked to leave a lasting impression on the courts through his choice of nominees, but President Trump has been doing great work at chipping away at a liberal judiciary.

This evening, the Senate voted 55-44 to invoke cloture on the nomination of the Honorable William Barr to be Attorney General of the United States.  RNLA sent a letter signed by 115 RNLA leaders, members, and friends to the leaders of the Senate in support of Mr. Barr's swift confirmation:

Today, at the end of a long executive business meeting, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to report favorably the nominations of William Barr to be Attorney General and 44 judicial nominees, including circuit court nominees Bridget S. Bade (Ninth Circuit), Paul B. Matey (Third Circuit), Eric D. Miller (Ninth Circuit), Eric E. Murphy (Sixth Circuit), Chad A. Readler (Sixth Circuit), and Allison Jones Rushing (Fourth Circuit).  The judicial nominees had previously had hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee but were held up by Democrats' delays and obstructions, so they had to be re-nominated by President Trump in this Congress.