Swalwell: Barr has taken Michael Cohen’s job as Trump’s fixer

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.) said that ever since President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen has gone to prison, Attorney General William Barr “has taken the job.”

“Unfortunately, Bill Barr already had a job — as Attorney General of the United States, our nation’s top law enforcement official,” Swalwell wrote in a Newsweek op-ed published Monday. “And we must not let him do both jobs at once.”

Swalwell’s column came a day before Barr was set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. The California congressman is a member of the committee.

Tuesday is the first time Barr will appear before the committee, where Democrats seek to press him on the alleged politicization of the Department of Justice.

Cohen is currently serving a three-year sentence for various charges, including fraud and lying to Congress.

Swalwell maintained that Cohen’s actions to shield the president from ridicule are similar to actions Barr has taken in public office. 

“It was reprehensible, but Cohen has taken responsibility for his actions and now is paying the price,” Swalwell wrote. “Meanwhile, Barr seems to be carrying out similar orders but deploying weapons more powerful than Cohen could’ve dreamed of: the power and authority of the U.S. Justice Department.”

The congressman listed examples in his op-ed that are likely topics during the House hearing, such as the administration’s decision to commute Roger Stone’s sentence and its dismissal of Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York who was leading several investigations into Trump’s associates, including his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Swalwell said that during the hearing Barr “will be expected to explain in detail why he has put President Trump’s personal and political needs above the interests of the American people and our justice system.”

“Unless he can provide us with valid rationales for his actions – beyond the self-serving excuses he has provided publicly so far – we must assume the Attorney General has been reduced to the role of an underworld fixer for Donald Trump, which has terrible implications for the health of our democracy and for Americans’ faith in government,” Swalwell wrote.