U.S. Association of Judges Calls for Emergency Meeting After Trump's Interference in Justice

 The Association of Federal Judges of the United States will convene an emergency meeting to address the intervention of President Donald Trump and Secretary of Justice  William Barr in politically sensitive judicial cases. The information was provided by Philadelphia District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe in an interview with the USA Today newspaper . 

READ ALSO In response to secretary, Trump says he has a 'right' to interfere in the Justice Department 

Head of the voluntary association with just over a thousand federal judges created in 1982, she said that the "issue cannot wait" and that the group is very concerned. On Sunday, a group of 1,100 former Justice Department officials released a letter asking Barr to resign after the Roger Stone case - a longtime friend and political adviser to Trump who was recently convicted of obstructing a Congressional investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 election campaign and to provide false testimony. 

Signatories to the text accuse Trump and Barr of "openly and repeatedly" ignoring the fundamental principle of equanimity and impartiality in law enforcement.

According to The Washington Post , there is no mention of a meeting like this of the association to address the actions of the president or a head of the Justice Department. 

The action comes after a turbulent week. Trump caused fear by criticizing prosecutors who had recommended a sentence of up to nine years in prison, and Barr spoke out in favor of a more lenient sentence. Four responsible prosecutors dropped the case in protest.

Last week,  Barr also complained that Trump's tweets were weakening his authority  and his department's credibility - which, for former and current lawyers in the department, was a sign that the agency's independence would be in jeopardy.

Trump said, however, that he has a legal right to intervene in federal crime cases. The president said he "has so far chosen" not to interfere in criminal proceedings, although he believes he is not legally obliged to do so. "This does not mean that I do not have, as president, the legal right to do this, but so far I have chosen not to ( interfere )!" He wrote.