Last week President Donald Trump fired witnesses; this week he interfered in the sentencing of his long-time friend Roger Stone. These developments have pundits worried about an over-powered executive branch following Trump's acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial.

A long-time Republican political operative, Stone is a self-identified "dirty trickster" and was behind the conspiracy theory that claimed Senator Ted Cruz's father was responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Former Communications Director for Ted Cruz for President Alice Stewart wrote in an op-ed for CNN that Stone had spread a "false story of multiple affairs... [with] five alleged mistresses" to hurt the Cruz campaign and "gaslit live on television" a CNN reporter.

Currently, Stone is being sentenced for lying to Congress and witness tampering. Stone was involved in the WikiLeaks scandal of the 2016 election, lied to Congress about his involvement, and pressured his associate, Randy Credico, to lie to Congress as well.

The prosecutors in Stone's case recommended he receive a 7 to 9 year prison sentence, a sentence which falls within federal sentencing guidelines which recommend a range of 87 to 108 months of jail time. The recommendation was accompanied by a 26-page memo emphasizing the seriousness of Stone's crimes and the fact that he was fully aware that a crime was being committed.

"Stone's lies to Congress and his obstructive conduct are a direct and brazen attack on the rule of law," prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

The President soon took to Twitter to voice his disapproval.

"This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!" Trump tweeted.

Hours after that tweet was posted, the Department of Justice directed the U.S. Attorney General's Office to recommend a shorter sentence for Stone. This overrode the original recommendation leading all four prosecutors who had brought the case to that point to withdraw and one to resign from the government entirely. Trump called them "Mueller people" (referencing the Russia probe) on Tuesday and "rogue prosecutors" in a tweet on Wednesday.

Traditionally, the President does not interfere in the workings of the Department of Justice, and Trump's influence on Stone's sentencing has legal experts and former prosecutors deeply concerned. Trump also tweeted a congratulations to Barr after he reduced Stone's sentence recommendation, something which only made commentators more suspicious about who had decided to reduce the recommendation, the Justice Department, or the President.

In response to the outcry, Barr took to ABC News to reassure Americans that he's "not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody....whether it's Congress, newspaper editorial boards, or the president." Barr told ABC that Trump's tweets about DOJ cases and the judges overseeing those cases make it "impossible" for him to do his job.

"I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me," Barr said. Barr told ABC that it is his responsibility as the Attorney General to "keep law enforcement, the criminal process sacrosanct to make sure there is no political interference in it"

Barr's words against the President had some wondering if his job might be in jeopardy. After all, his predecessor, Jeff Sessions, was forced to resign. Soon after the interview, the Whitehouse announced the President "wasn't bothered" by what Barr had said, but Trump has since gone on Twitter to say that although he hasn't interfered in a DOJ criminal case so far, he has "the legal right to do so" but that he had "so far chosen not to!"

Not everyone agrees with the President. Even some of his staunchest supporters feel he is overstepping a line.

"The president made a great choice when he picked Bill Barr to be the attorney general. I think the president should listen to his advice... I think that if the attorney general says [tweeting] is getting in the way of doing his job, then maybe the president should listen to the attorney general," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview on Fox.

Following the revision of Stone's sentence recommendation, Barr has made several odd decisions. First, he announced that the DOJ would not be pursuing charges against former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Then he ordered the reexamination of several cases involving former Trump officials like Michael Flynn. The erratic nature of these decisions clouds the issue of whether or not Barr is acting purely on the President's behalf. Barr is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee to defend his actions surrounding the Stone case.

In the most recent development, more than 1,100 former prosecutors and DOJ officials have released a statement requesting that Barr resign. This sort of outcry from career officials is extremely uncommon and just goes to show the seriousness of the situation.

"Mr. Barr's actions in doing the President's personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words. 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. But because we have little expectation he will do so, it falls to the Department's career officials to take appropriate action to uphold their oaths of office and defend nonpartisan, apolitical justice," the officials wrote.

Stone is scheduled to be sentenced on February 20, but in a rare twist, the judge overseeing the trial has requested a "scheduling" meeting between the attorneys before the sentencing date. Trump has also mentioned that he is considering pardoning Stone.

In an effort to limit the President's power and re-establish the Congress's constitutional oversight of the executive branch and their sole right to declare war, a bipartisan resolution was passed this week with 8 Republicans crossing the aisle to get it through the Senate. The President is expected to veto the resolution.

Also this week, we've seen that Trump has plenty of ways to override Congress even in bipartisan matters. Congress holds power of the purse and approves budgets for things like military spending, but Trump has repeatedly diverted funds without Congressional oversight or approval.

Trump is now siphoning off nearly $4 billion in funding for his border wall despite claiming that his administration has already cut "illegal crossings" by 75%. The funding was originally allocated for the National Guard and Reserves, but the Administration said the wall was a "higher priority" item "necessary in the national interest."

The diversion has faced bipartisan criticism. Rep. Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement that read, "Congress has the constitutional responsibility to determine how defense dollars are spent. The re-programming announced today is contrary to Congress's constitutional authority, and I believe that it requires Congress to take action. I will be working with my colleagues to determine the appropriate steps to take."

A joint statement released by Democrats called the re-appropriation "theft of nearly $4 billion in military funds" and said it "represents another of President Trump's broken promises to our service members, especially our brave sailors who he assured would receive funding".