Washington, February 17 (RHC)-- More than one thousand former Justice Department officials have called for the resignation of Donald Trump's attorney general over his interference in the sentencing of the U.S. president's longtime political aide Roger Stone.

In a statement on Sunday, some 1,100 ex-officials condemned Trump and Attorney General William Barr for "openly and repeatedly" flouting principles based on an "evenhanded administration of justice."  Stone was convicted in November last year of lying to Congress and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia for him to emerge as the victor of the 2016 U.S. election.

Four government attorneys who prosecuted Stone resigned from the case after their original sentence proposal for seven to nine years was reversed by Trump and the intervention of Barr.  "Such behavior is a grave threat to the fair administration of justice. A person should not be given special treatment in a criminal prosecution because they are a close political ally of the President,” the statement said.

"Barr’s actions in doing the President’s personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words," it added. "Those actions, and the damage they have done to the Department of Justice’s reputation for integrity and the rule of law, require Mr. Barr to resign."

U.S. President Donald Trump faced fresh accusations of abuse of power Tuesday after appearing to pressure the Justice Department to seek a lighter prison sentence for his longtime political aide Roger Stone.
Trump has denied having interfered in the Stone case and called the accusation "ridiculous."

The letter came barely a week after Trump won acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial against charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.