Whoa, this has never happened before. Though, we’ve never had an attorney general like this before.

According to the New York Times, 1,100 former federal attorneys, some of the most elite prosecutors and attorneys in the world, have signed a letter demanding Bill Barr step down as attorney general.

The report states the letter insists, “Each of us strongly condemns President Trump’s and Attorney General Barr’s interference in the fair administration of justice,” adding those actions “require Mr. Barr to resign.

Moreover, the letter is bipartisan, collecting signatures from across the political spectrum. This should not surprise. All parties have an interest in cutting off creeping authoritarianism. Dictatorships near always begin with an elected official setting loose a prosecutor to go after political enemies that the leader sees as “illegitimate,” as if opposing the leader alone is a crime. In our current climate, Donald Trump certainly acts as though merely opposing him is a crime.

Ripping up the SOTU address as a crime? Comey? Hillary? Obama impeachment? Point made.

Barr has played a significant role in this endeavor.

Pointing out that the impetus for the letter is related to Barr’s interference in the Roger Stone case that led to prosecutors who handled it resigning en masse, the Times also reports that the signees, “Also urged current government employees to report any signs of unethical behavior at the Justice Department to the agency’s inspector general and to Congress.”

Trump knows that his biggest weakness is the possibility that more whistleblowers come forward. We at Flare have been writing for weeks that Trump and the Republicans are purposefully intimidating potential witnesses. They fire people who testify against Trump, publish anonymous names to bring about threats to family (we hope they are only threats) and even firing family members. Thus, the call to report wrongdoing in the letter abuts the administration’s effort to cut off any dissent – another sign of totalitarianism.

Whether the letter has a practical effect in the immediate future is debatable. Long term, however, the effect is sure to put Barr on notice that people are watching, people are not fooled, and he will be held accountable, both by history, and in a possible incoming administration.

These things matter, and we should applaud those who put them together. There is no longer any guarantee that one can exercise one’s First Amendment rights without consequences. We have seen an erosion of those rights, too.

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Peace, y’all

Jason

[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom