在司法部长威廉·巴尔批评总统让他的工作“不可能”后，唐纳德·特朗普周五宣称，他有“合法权利”干涉司法部处理的刑事案件。
但前DOJ官员警告称，总统对刑事诉讼的任何干预，尽管不违法，但都是极不寻常的举动，会破坏该国的司法系统。
“总统作为行政部门的首脑，有宪法权力和酌处权向司法部或任何其他行政部门发出指示。但总统试图影响刑事调查是非常不恰当和滥用自由裁量权的，”DOJ前反情报局长大卫·劳夫曼告诉记者新闻周刊。
他补充说，在司法部的整个历史中，对于白宫如何与执法机构沟通一直有“明确的理解”——直到现在。
劳夫曼说:“我想不出现代史上有哪一位总统会一再公开声明即将进行的刑事调查、起诉或审判，意图影响他们。”。
前水门事件检察官尼克·阿克曼对此表示赞同，他指出宪法中没有任何条款阻止特朗普告诉司法部长如何处理某个案件，但“从来没有这样做过”
阿克曼告诉记者:“这从来没有发生过，因为看起来总统在干涉司法系统，他把自己的个人信仰放在了我们想要的公正执法的刑法之上。”新闻周刊。“这是唐纳德·特朗普独有的东西。”
特朗普声称他有权干涉DOJ是对巴尔批评的回应，巴尔批评他对正在进行的事务的不断评论使他“不可能”做他作为司法部长的工作。
“我不会被任何人欺负或影响，”巴尔在周四的电视采访中告诉美国广播公司。他补充说，“是时候停止关于司法部刑事案件的推文了。”
2019年5月22日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普(左)和司法部长威廉·巴尔在华盛顿特区白宫东厅共同出席公共安全官员英勇勋章的颁奖仪式
巴尔本周因改变了对罗杰·斯通的量刑建议而饱受批评。斯通是特朗普的长期合伙人，去年被判妨碍国会和干预证人罪。他的起诉书来自前特别顾问罗伯特·穆勒对俄罗斯选举干涉的调查。
华盛顿联邦检察官周一要求法官判处斯通7至9年监禁。但是在唐纳德·特朗普总统抱怨判决几小时后，司法部决定撤回自己的建议。
这一举动促使参与斯通事件的四名检察官撤诉提出的问题司法部的独立性和完整性。
但特朗普对此举表示赞赏，并通过推特祝贺巴尔“接手了一个完全失控的案件”他还抨击了参与此案的职业检察官，因为他们提出了如此“可怕且非常不公平”的建议。
劳夫曼说，在特朗普专门诋毁检察官或质疑案件完整性的情况下，司法部长拒绝这些攻击是“必要的”。
他说:“不这样做的后果是司法部的士气直线下降，公众对该部作为一个机构的信心逐渐丧失。”。
白宫尚未对此做出回应新闻周刊征求意见。
TRUMP CLAIMS HE HAS 'LEGAL RIGHT' TO MEDDLE WITH DOJ BUT FORMER OFFICIALS SAY IT WOULD BE A 'GROSSLY IMPROPER' ABUSE OF POWER
After Attorney General William Barr criticized the president for making his job "impossible," Donald Trump asserted Friday that he has the "legal right" to interfere with criminal cases handled by the Department of Justice.
But former DOJ officials warn that any interference by the president in criminal prosecutions, while not illegal, is a highly unusual move that would undermine the country's justice system.
"The president arguably, as head of the executive branch, has the constitutional authority and discretion to give direction to the Department of Justice or any other executive branch. But it is grossly improper and an abuse of that discretion for the president to seek to influence a criminal investigation," David Laufman, the DOJ's former counterintelligence chief, told Newsweek.
He added that throughout the history of the Justice Department there have been "explicit understandings" in how the White House can communicate with the law enforcement agency—until now.
"I can't think of any president in recent modern history that has repeatedly made public statements about pending criminal investigations, prosecutions or trials with the intent to influence them," Laufman said.
Former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman agreed, noting that there's nothing in the Constitution preventing Trump from telling the attorney general how to handle a certain case but that it's "just never done."
"It's never done because it looks like the president is interfering in the system of justice, that he is putting his own personal beliefs on top of what we want as even-handed enforcement of our criminal law," Akerman told Newsweek. "This is something unique to Donald Trump."
Trump's assertion that he has the right to interfere with the DOJ was in response to Barr's criticism that his constant commentary on ongoing matters makes it "impossible" for him to do his job as attorney general.
"I'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody," Barr told ABC in a televised interview on Thursday. He added that it's "time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases."
President Donald Trump (L) and Attorney General William Barr arrive together for the presentation of the Public Safety Officer Medals of Valor in the East Room of the White House May 22, 2019, in Washington, D.C.
Barr has been under fire this week for reversing course on a sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone. Stone, a longtime Trump associate, was convicted last year of obstructing Congress and witness tampering. His indictment came from former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference.
Federal prosecutors in Washington asked a judge on Monday to sentence Stone to seven to nine years in prison for his crimes. But hours after President Donald Trump complained about the sentence, the Justice Department decided to backpedal on its own recommendation.
The move prompted the four prosecutors involved in the Stone matter to drop the case and has raised questions about the Justice Department's independence and integrity.
But Trump applauded the move and congratulated Barr via Twitter for "taking charge of a case that was totally out of control." He also slammed the career prosecutors who had worked on the case for making such a "horrible and very unfair" recommendation.
Laufman said in these instances where Trump is specifically denigrating prosecutors or questioning the integrity of a case, it's "essential" for the attorney general to repudiate those attacks.
"The consequence of not doing so is the plummeting of morale within the Department of Justice and the hollowing out of public confidence in the department as an institution," he said.
The White House has not yet responded to Newsweek's request for comment.
