This won’t be upsetting many in the cannabis sector. Not quite as bad as Sessions but not what was needed
NPR reports
Attorney General William Barr, an outspoken proponent of conservative values and an expansive view of presidential power, will leave office before Christmas, President Trump announced in a tweet Monday afternoon.
Trump said he and Barr had a “very nice meeting” at the White House and that their “relationship has been a very good one.”
Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen will become acting attorney general, Trump said.
In a letter to the president, Barr said he is proud to have played a role in Trump’s administration and said he would depart Dec. 23.
Earlier this month, Barr said the Department of Justice found no evidence of widespread election fraud, directly contradicting Trump’s baseless claims that Democrats stole the election. Ahead of the election, Barr had stood by the president, repeating his unsubstantiated claims that mail-in voting was ripe for fraud.
In less than two years on the job, Barr emerged as perhaps the most divisive attorney general in recent memory for a series of controversial actions, including his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation and his repeated false claims about the integrity of mail-in voting.
More at https://www.npr.org/2020/12/14/811276917/william-barr-to-steps-down-as-attorney-general
Meanwhile it looks like Biden’s choice will be one of the following. We were meant to learn late last week who he was pushing but we are still waiting on that announcement
CNN reports
The role of attorney general remains the biggest outstanding position in the Cabinet yet to be named by President-elect Joe Biden.
Three leading contenders for the post are: Sen. Doug Jones, Judge Merrick Garland and Sally Yates, people familiar with the matter say, after Jeh Johnson informed allies late Tuesday he would not be serving in the Biden administration.
Here are key things to know about the possible contenders:
- Jones: The Alabama senator who lost his race in November, is seen as the leading candidate to run the Department of Justice, people close to the matter say, particularly given his long-standing friendship with Biden and his strong civil rights record. He also fits a pattern developing among several key Cabinet nominees: Biden is turning to people with whom he has strong relationships, are seen as competent and could face an easier road to confirmation.”All signs point to Doug Jones,” a person close to the Biden transition tells CNN, but noted that Biden had not informed candidates of his final decision.
- Garland: The judge has also been under consideration for weeks. Some people close to the process say his candidacy has become more serious over the last week and he remains an option. Yet his nomination also faces more challenges than Jones, including a more complicated confirmation battle, the vacancy it would create on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and questions from civil rights groups. Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the final year of the Obama administration
- Yates: A former deputy attorney general, would also likely face a more difficult confirmation than Jones. As a 30-year career official at Justice, it’s also an open question whether she is best suited to lead the department in the post-Trump era. During her time as deputy attorney general, she stood by while then-FBI Director James Comey, who reported directly to her, repeatedly violated Justice Department policy in handling the Hillary Clinton email probe.
- Source https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/biden-trump-us-election-news-12-11-20/h_ba6828643910aaaf5dabbf0df0dd90c1
