Bill Barr blasted the leniency of sanctuary cities the same day DOJ asked for a shorter sentence for Roger Stone


Attorney General William Barr thinks some places are too lenient when it comes to criminal offenses, but his department has the opposite concern when it comes to President Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone.
Barr on Tuesday gave a speech at the Major County Sheriffs of America Winter Conference in Washington, D.C., where he criticized so-called sanctuary cities — which limit cooperation with federal agencies when it comes to immigration laws — for resisting the federal government's efforts to "carry out effective law enforcement." He said those jurisdictions "believe it is more important to to help criminal aliens evade the law than it is to protect the safety of law-abiding individuals."
Opponents of the Trump administration probably would've been critical of those comments anyway, but they were also quick to jump on the Justice Department's decision to reverse the original recommendation for Stone's sentencing because the initial seven to nine years was deemed "excessive." Barr hasn't addressed the Stone situation yet, but he's been called out for hypocrisy anyway.
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Some of Stone's prosecutors likely agree, considering 3 of them withdrew from the case after the reversal.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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