More than 40 former Department of Justice officials signed on to a letter penned by former Attorney General Loretta Lynch endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democrat nominee for president, saying the “stakes could not be higher.”
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, a U.S. attorney for the District of Rhode Island during the Obama administration, was the only one of the 45 signatories who has an active role in the field, according to the letter, obtained by NBC News.
“The fabric of the nation, the rule of law and the future of the Democracy are at stake in this election,” the letter began before thanking President Joe Biden “for his extraordinary years of service.” The attorneys general saluted Biden for his “historic decision to put the nation first and pass the torch.”
“We join him enthusiastically in endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to be the next President of the United States,” the letter went on, according to NBC News.
“The stakes could not be higher. Former President Trump presents a grave risk to our country, our global alliances and the future of democracy. As president, he regularly ignored the rule of law,” the letter stated.
The letter and endorsement are likely to draw the ire of Republicans, who accuse the DOJ of being weaponized by the Biden administration against Trump. Special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, brought two federal cases against Trump, though the classified documents case has been dismissed by a judge in Florida.
Republicans also accuse the DOJ of communicating with and aiding the two state cases against Trump, one of which resulted in a conviction in New York. The case in Fulton County, Georgia, is delayed, as is Smith’s other federal case against Trump in Washington, D.C.
Looking past the lawfare against the Republican rival of Biden and Harris, the letter took aim at Trump’s record.
“One of his first acts was to order an unconstitutional Muslim travel ban. His last act was to try to stay in power by defying election results and the will of the American people,” the letter read. “In between, he put in place extremely conservative Supreme Court justices who reversed longstanding precedents and legal protections: stripping women of reproductive rights, gutting environmental protections and granting Trump virtual immunity for his ‘official acts.’”
Other notable signatories of the letter include former deputy Attorneys General Sally Yates, David Ogden, and Jamie Gorelick. Lynch was attorney general under Barack Obama from 2015 until January 2017, when Trump took office. Trump replaced her with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.