Three dozen members of the House of Representatives introduced a resolution on Tuesday calling for an inquiry into the possible impeachment of Attorney General William Barr because he “abused the power of his office” to improperly investigate marijuana businesses and allegedly engaged in other unlawful conduct.
The resolution, which is being led by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), states that the attorney general “has taken deliberate actions that violate the rights of the American people, assault the principle of impartial administration of justice, and undermine the constitutional structure of separation of powers across three co-equal branches of Government.”
It says that Barr “abused the power of his office to initiate pretextual antitrust investigations into ‘unpopular’ American corporations in the cannabis, automobile, and technology industries.”
That allegation comes from a Justice Department whistleblower who publicly revealed this month that 10 antitrust investigations targeting cannabis companies were launched at the direction of the attorney general, who was said to have made the decision based on his personal animus for the industry.
“He’s using antitrust not for the purpose of helping consumers and businesses that might be disadvantaged by monopoly, but doing it as a vehicle for his social policies, which is unheard of,” Cohen told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview, referring to the attorney general.