Congress Must Probe Military Use at DC Rally, Lawyer Group Says

(Bloomberg) -- The New York City Bar Association is asking Congress to investigate the use of the U.S. military last week to clear Black Lives Matter protesters from Lafayette Square Park near the White House, including who specifically authorized the use of force.

In its letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the lawyers group demanded answers to a range of questions, including whether there were any specific instructions as to how members of the news media should have been treated by the armed police, and who was responsible for removing identifying insignia from the uniforms of some of the forces that cleared the square. Some journalists said they were attacked by law enforcement.

Representative Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has said he will hold hearings into the Justice Department’s role in the crackdown, after Attorney General William Barr claimed partial responsibility for approving the use of force. Nadler also threatened to cut the budget of Barr’s personal office by $50 million.

The bar association pointed out in its letter that an Army helicopter that buzzed the area with combat maneuvers was marked with a red cross. That indicated it was a medical evacuation craft being deployed for purposes outside those sanctioned by the Geneva Conventions and U.S. military rules, the group said.

The Trump administration’s use of force against the protesters in Lafayette Square Park on June 1, culminating in a photo-op for the president in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, has drawn widespread condemnation from Democrats, former military generals and some Republicans.

The New York City Bar Association, a membership organization that is distinct from the state association that certifies lawyers to practice, has criticized Barr before. In January, it called for a congressional investigation into whether he was violating his duty to be politically impartial.

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