纽约市律师协会恳求国会领导人对司法部长威廉·巴尔的行为展开正式调查，声称这威胁到公众对“公平公正司法”的信心

巴尔先生最近的行动和声明将司法部长，进而将美国司法部(DOJ)定位为愿意利用政府杠杆赋予某些群体权力而不是其他群体的政治党派信国会领导人说。

周三，协会主席罗杰·胡安·马尔多纳多(Roger Juan Maldonado)和主席斯蒂芬·卡斯(Stephen Kass)代表协会发出了这封信。致众议院议长南希·佩洛西、众议院少数党领袖凯文·麦卡锡、参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔和参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默。这封信认为巴尔的行为违反了政府律师必须避免的“基本”义务，“甚至是偏袒的表象”

这不是纽约律师协会第一次批评巴尔参与司法事务。10月，他们敦促巴尔回避他所在部门对举报者投诉特朗普7月份与乌克兰总统沃洛迪米尔·泽兰斯基(Volodymyr Zelenskiy)通电话的审查。参议院司法委员会的民主党人也支持巴尔回避。

为了说明对巴尔进行正式调查的必要性，周三的信强调了司法部长发表的四份令该协会感到不安的公开声明，包括:

• 10月11日，圣母大学:发誓要把司法部放在抵制“世俗化力量的最前沿，从公共场所推动宗教观点，侵犯我们信仰的自由行使”

• 11月15日，联邦主义者协会全国律师大会:说“左派”就是“有系统地粉碎规范和破坏法治”。

• 12月3日，司法部长治安杰出服务奖:说那些对执法没有表现出适当尊重和支持的人可能会发现自己“没有他们需要的警察保护”

• 12月10日，声明和电视采访:拒绝了监察长关于联邦调查局对唐纳德·特朗普总统竞选活动的调查没有不当政治动机的结论。

司法部长威廉·巴尔12月18日在密歇根州底特律宣布了一项新的减少犯罪倡议，旨在减少底特律的犯罪。周三，纽约律师协会提交了一封信，敦促国会对巴尔展开正式调查，信中称，巴尔的行为引起了人们对司法部公正性的担忧。

信中说，巴尔的评论“强化了一种更广泛的行为模式”，这种行为模式在他如何理解和执行自己的角色时制造了一种偏袒的表象。

“在许多令人不安的情况下，巴尔先生说话和行动的方式传达了一种印象，即他认为自己不是为整个国家，而是更狭隘地为社会的某些阶层担任司法部长，”信中说。

新闻周刊已联系司法部，但未能及时收到发表的回复。

马尔多纳多和卡斯没有就巴尔是否违反任何职业行为准则做出裁决，他们声称巴尔的评论违背了他自己对司法部长角色的信念。巴尔在2019年的参议院确认听证会上表示，司法部必须是一个不受政治影响的地方，每个人都要在事实和“公平适用法律”的基础上得到公平对待

“出于上述原因，我们对巴尔先生最近的行为和声明的正当性非常担忧，”信中说。"我们敦促国会履行其宪法义务，迅速开始对巴尔的行为进行正式调查。"

NYC BAR ASSOCIATION SENDS LETTER TO CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS SAYING AG BARR'S CONDUCT 'THREATENS PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN FAIR ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE'

The New York City Bar Association implored congressional leaders to launch a formal inquiry into Attorney General William Barr's conduct, claiming it threatened the public's confidence in the "fair and impartial administration of justice."

"Mr. Barr's recent actions and statements position the Attorney General and, by extension, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) as political partisans willing to use the levers of government to empower certain groups over others," the letter to the congressional leaders stated.

On Wednesday, Roger Juan Maldonado, president of the association, and chairman Stephen Kass sent the letter on behalf of the association. to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The letter argued that Barr's actions violated the "bedrock" obligation government lawyers had to avoid "even the appearance of partiality."

This isn't the first time the NYC Bar Association has criticized Barr's involvement in matters of justice. In October, they urged Barr to recuse himself from his department's review of a whistleblower's complaint about Trump's July phone call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee also supported Barr recusing himself.

In illustrating the need for a formal inquiry into Barr, Wednesday's letter highlighted four public statements the attorney general made that the association found troubling, including:

• October 11, University of Notre Dame: Vowing to place the Department of Justice "at the forefront" of the effort to resist the "forces of secularization to drive religious viewpoints from the public square and to impinge upon the free exercise of our faith."

• November 15, Federalist Society's National Lawyer's Convention: Saying "the left" is engaged in the "systematic shredding of norms and the undermining of the rule of law."

• December 3, Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service in Policing: Saying people who don't show the proper respect and support to law enforcement could find themselves "without the police protection they need."

• December 10, statement and television interview: Rejecting the Inspector General's finding that there was no improper political motivation in the FBI's investigation into President Donald Trump's campaign.

Attorney General William Barr announces a new crime reduction Initiative designed to reduce crime in Detroit on December 18 in Detroit, Michigan. On Wednesday, the NYC Bar Association submitted a letter urging Congress to launch a formal inquiry into Barr, whose actions, the letter said, raised concerns about the impartiality of the Department of Justice.

Barr's comments, the letter said, "reinforce a broader pattern of conduct" that created an appearance of partiality in how he understands and carries out his role.

"In a troubling number of instances, Mr. Barr has spoken and acted in a manner communicating an impression that he views himself as serving as the Attorney General not for the entire nation, but more narrowly for certain segments of society," the letter said.

Newsweek reached out to the Department of Justice but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Maldonado and Kass didn't render a verdict on whether Barr violated any Rules of Professional Conduct, they claimed Barr's comments ran contrary to his own beliefs about the role of an attorney general. During his Senate confirmation hearing in 2019, Barr said the Department of Justice must be a place that can't be swayed by politics and where everyone is treated fairly based on the facts and an "even-handed application of the law."

"For the reasons stated above, we have significant concerns about the propriety of Mr. Barr's recent actions and statements," the letter said. "We urge Congress to exercise its constitutional obligations by expeditiously commencing formal inquiries into Mr. Barr's conduct."