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Even Nixon’s attorney general would think Barr is going off the rails.
“Virtually unchecked discretion” to prosecute cases? What case is Barr citing for that?
Also, what law did Seattle’s mayor supposedly break in setting up an autonomous police free protest zone?
Barr Told Prosecutors to Consider Sedition Charges for Protest Violence - The New York Times
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr told federal prosecutors in a call last week that they should consider charging rioters and others who had committed violent crimes at protests in recent months with sedition, according to two people familiar with the call.
The highly unusual suggestion to charge people with insurrection against lawful authority alarmed some on the call, which included U.S. attorneys around the country, said the people, who described Mr. Barr’s comments on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
The attorney general has also asked prosecutors in the Justice Department’s civil rights division to explore whether they could bring criminal charges against Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle for allowing some residents to establish a police-free protest zone near the city’s downtown for weeks this summer, according to two people briefed on those discussions. Late Wednesday, a department spokesman said that Mr. Barr did not direct the civil rights division to explore this idea.
During a speech on Wednesday night, Mr. Barr noted that the Supreme Court had determined that the executive branch had “virtually unchecked discretion” in deciding whether to prosecute cases. He did not mention Ms. Durkan or the sedition statute.
“The power to execute and enforce the law is an executive function altogether,” Mr. Barr said in remarks at an event in suburban Washington celebrating the Constitution. “That means discretion is invested in the executive to determine when to exercise the prosecutorial power.”
“Virtually unchecked discretion” to prosecute cases? What case is Barr citing for that?
Also, what law did Seattle’s mayor supposedly break in setting up an autonomous police free protest zone?
Barr Told Prosecutors to Consider Sedition Charges for Protest Violence - The New York Times
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