Thread by @AriMelber

These developments in the Roger Stone case are seen as a substantively *huge* deal in legal circles -- a challenge to the rule of law...

NEW: Former Attorney General @EricHolder tells me:

“The action taken today is aberrant and inconsistent with a Justice Department acting in a traditional, non-political way. It disrespects the career prosecutors whom I greatly respect..."

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@EricHolder Holder:

Actions such as these put at risk the perceived - and real- neutral enforcement of our laws & ultimately endanger the fabric of our democracy. Those involved in the decision must be called on to explain their actions.. a sad day for an institution to which I owe so much.

@EricHolder For context, @EricHolder does not frequently weigh in on most developments at Trump DOJ -- and many, many of its policies and actions differ with his approach while running the Department.

Substantively, this concern looks like something much larger and more fundamental.

@EricHolder A few more points on the *crisis* inside the Barr DOJ right now (yes the press can cover more than one big story at once)...

@EricHolder The Barr DOJ overriding the decision of Mueller and career prosecutors raises big questions:

@EricHolder Did Barr seek an ethics ruling under DOJ policy about overriding the resolution of this case from a *special counsel probe,* which is explicitly shielded from exactly this kind of alleged interference?

@EricHolder Is Barr violating the independence of the special counsel probe by interfering in the resolution of one of its key convictions?

@EricHolder Barr testified under oath about allowing the Mueller probe to continue under DOJ rules. Does (allegedly) reversing the outcome in *two* of its convictions of former Trump aides violate that?

@EricHolder Barr testified to Congress "in order to overrule Mueller" the AG must give "Mueller’s position great weight" & find "it was so unwarranted under established policies that it should not be done."

The Barr DOJ just overruled a Mueller probe sentence - did he follow that process?

@EricHolder Should an AG be recused from overruling sentences in a special counsel case?

@EricHolder How rare is it for DOJ leadership to intervene and *lighten* a jail sentence recommendation to conflict with the federal guidelines?

(Prosecutors often deploy the guidelines to be "tough on crime," not lighter.)

@EricHolder Take it together:

Trump DOJ intervenes to ease jail time for Roger Stone..

& Mike Flynn..

4 prosecutors withdraw from the case in apparent protest..

And the admin had "reassigned" the supervisor of those prosecutors..

for an admin "job" that has now been..

canceled tonight!

@EricHolder Imagine if *any* of these things happened in the *middle* of the Mueller probe:

DOJ intervention to spare former Trump aides;

Several Mueller prosecutors resign in apparent protest;

A Trump aide under investigation can go over prosecutors' heads to share pro-Trump dirt

@EricHolder Any *one* of these would be huge, controversial developments. If this is a type of legal "massacre," as some DOJ veterans are saying, Barr is testing whether moving slowly makes it easier to get away with.