Donald Trump shakes hands with his attorney general, William Barr. (Photo: White House)

Washington, October 28 (RHC)-- A group of former U.S. Republican attorneys have endorsed Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden and denounced incumbent President Donald Trump as a "threat to rule of law.” 

Twenty attorneys, hired by former U.S. Republican administrations, wrote in an open letter on Tuesday that Trump's “leadership is a threat to the rule of law."  “The President has clearly conveyed that he expects his Justice Department appointees and prosecutors to serve his personal and political interests,” the former prosecutors said.

They accused Trump of taking “action against those who have stood up for the interests of justice.”  “He’s not just bending the norms, he’s smashing them,” said Ken Wainstein, who served as a U.S. attorney under George W. Bush.

Another attorney, Gregory Brower, who worked under the Trump administration said he “had an up-close view of how the president and the White House dealt with the Justice Department in recent years.”  Brower, who worked as the FBI's assistant director for congressional affairs in the current administration, told the Washington Post that “Trump views the Justice Department and the FBI as his own personal law firm and investigative agency.”  Brower said: “He made that clear privately — and publicly."

A number of high-profile Republicans, including Ohio governor, former New York representative Susan Molinari; former Trump administration official Miles Taylor and former Colin Powell, also backed Biden, who holds his largest-ever lead over Trump now.

A new poll conducted by Yahoo News/YouGov, says the former vice president holds a 12-point lead over his Republican rival.  Biden leads Trump by 54% to 42% as the two candidates are heading into the final week of the presidential campaign, according to the survey.