| | In November 2019, U.S. Attorney General [[William Barr]] accused Democrats of using their oversight powers to sabotage the executive branch, and he criticized the “resistance” to President Trump while speaking at a conference of the [[Federalist Society]]. Barr added, "The fact of the matter is that, in waging a scorched earth, no-holds-barred war of resistance against this administration, it is the left that is engaged in the systematic shredding of norms and the undermining of the rule of law," and what he referred to as a broader erosion in the commander in chief’s rightful authority. Barr traced a “steady grinding down” of executive authority to the mid-1960s, saying the trend had quickened after the [[Watergate]] scandal that led to President [[Richard Nixon]]’s resignation. Critics of the speech claimed it was overly partisan, even "authoritarian." Calls for Barr’s impeachment, from partisan lawyers and some "legal scholars", soon followed delivery of the speech.<ref>''Hannah Knowles | The Washington Post'', Attorney General Barr accuses Democrats of ‘war’ on Trump in speech decried as partisan, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/16/attorney-general-barr-accuses-democrats-using-oversight-powers-try-cripple-executive-branch/, November 16, 2019</ref> | | In November 2019, U.S. Attorney General [[William Barr]] accused Democrats of using their oversight powers to sabotage the executive branch, and he criticized the “resistance” to President Trump while speaking at a conference of the [[Federalist Society]]. Barr added, "The fact of the matter is that, in waging a scorched earth, no-holds-barred war of resistance against this administration, it is the left that is engaged in the systematic shredding of norms and the undermining of the rule of law," and what he referred to as a broader erosion in the commander in chief’s rightful authority. Barr traced a “steady grinding down” of executive authority to the mid-1960s, saying the trend had quickened after the [[Watergate]] scandal that led to President [[Richard Nixon]]’s resignation. Critics of the speech claimed it was overly partisan, even "authoritarian." Calls for Barr’s impeachment, from partisan lawyers and some "legal scholars", soon followed delivery of the speech.<ref>''Hannah Knowles | The Washington Post'', Attorney General Barr accuses Democrats of ‘war’ on Trump in speech decried as partisan, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/16/attorney-general-barr-accuses-democrats-using-oversight-powers-try-cripple-executive-branch/, November 16, 2019</ref> |