DOJ photo of William Barr and screengrab of Vladimir Putin
Attorney General Bill Barr's Department of Justice moved to end a prosecution over 2016 foreign election meddling in an after-hours filing on Monday.
"The U.S. Justice Department moved Monday to drop its two-year-long prosecution of a Russian company charged with orchestrating a social media campaign to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election," The Washington Post reported Monday evening. "The stunning reversal came weeks before the case — a spin off of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe — was to go to trial."
Legal observers were shocked by the decision.
Here's some of what people were saying:
Coronavirus news dump https://t.co/GxM4jP1vnV— Will Bunch Sign Up For My Newsletter (@Will Bunch Sign Up For My Newsletter)1584404558.0
BREAKING: The Barr Justice Dept. drops the case against a Russian firm accused of being part of Putin's attack on t… https://t.co/fSa3ah4qqQ— David Corn (@David Corn)1584404298.0
As we burn down, the Trump DOJ corruption continues! https://t.co/2bud6aekQM— #LoveThyNeighbor✝️🇺🇸☣️😷 (@#LoveThyNeighbor✝️🇺🇸☣️😷)1584403850.0
MORE: Barr's Justice Dept abandons prosecution of the Russian firm charged with interfering in the 2016 election. T… https://t.co/vZ33BpyrmC— Polly Sigh (@Polly Sigh)1584406258.0
Trump and his criminal friends will use the crisis for their own benefit. https://t.co/hgpLD2Qj0A— Wajahat "Wears a Mask Because of a Pandemic" Ali (@Wajahat "Wears a Mask Because of a Pandemic" Ali)1584403795.0
Hey.. here's a pandemic driven market crash so no one is probably watching right? Wow! DOJ just spent two years pr… https://t.co/gBKItDslNq— hari sreenivasan (@hari sreenivasan)1584403005.0
MASSIVE CORRUPTION IN THE U.S. Justice Dept. (my opinion) leads to an abandonment of prosecution of Russian firm in… https://t.co/yYOaiTRoza— Beki Knott (@Beki Knott)1584406399.0
SAD. U.S. Justice Dept. abandons prosecution of Russian firm indicted in Mueller election interference probe https://t.co/0NyJmgDUtj— Jill Wine-Banks (@Jill Wine-Banks)1584404248.0
Since when does the failure of a defendant to comply with subpoenas, or filing a false affidavit, lead to the Justi… https://t.co/DXRG93CBa3— Michael J. Stern (@Michael J. Stern)1584404214.0
The most corrupt administration ever. https://t.co/u9fTnIxTlT— Elizabeth C. McLaughlin, Esq. (@Elizabeth C. McLaughlin, Esq.)1584403797.0
