The rare statement from the officials — mostly former career prosecutors, but also some former political appointees — came in the wake of an extraordinary week at the Justice Department. In just one week, career prosecutors withdrew from a case after Barr overruled their sentencing recommendation, the attorney general pushed back against the President in an unusual interview and separately ordered an examination of politically charged cases involving those close to President Donald Trump.

Th upheaval at the Justice Department began when all four federal prosecutors who took the case against Roger Stone to trial withdrew from the case Tuesday afternoon after Barr overruled their sentencing recommendation hours after the President criticized it on Twitter.

In an interview with ABC News, Barr defended the department’s rank-and-file.

“I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me,” the attorney general said.

In an unusual move on Sunday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing Stone’s case, called for a “scheduling” conference call with attorneys in the case on Tuesday, ahead of the sentencing hearing set for later this week, according to court documents.

The court did not provide additional details on what would be discussed on the call, and Jackson has not yet formally acknowledged the withdrawals.

Barr zags and prosecutors worry

On the West Coast, one federal prosecutor said there was an overwhelming sense of “outrage” felt in his office.

A prosecutor on the East Coast voiced concern about the potential impact of political interference on juries and judges, who could perceive that cases aren’t being brought objectively.

And a former prosecutor said his clients have expressed concern about cooperating with investigations out of fear that the Justice Department could interfere improperly in a case, putting them in jeopardy.

‘That’s just not normal’

Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, said Sunday that Barr “does enjoy the support” of Trump, telling CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” that he doesn’t think “it’s impossible (for Barr) to do his job.”

“In fact, I think that Attorney General Barr is doing a great job,” he added. “I think he has a lot of confidence inside the White House. I think that the President’s frustration is one that a lot of Americans have, which feels like the scales of justice are not balancing.”

But several Democratic senators, including presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, last week also called for Barr to resign.

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar echoed that call Sunday on “State of the Union,” but added she does not expect Barr to step down.

“Sure, I’d be glad if he resigned. I just don’t think that is realistic,” the Minnesota senator said, adding, “But what I think is realistic is that he is now going to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee. I’d also like him to come to the Senate. And, along with my colleagues, I have asked him to do that, so we can probe him on the role of the President in trying to influence decisions in the Department of Justice, in particular the (Roger) Stone decision.”

Klobuchar told Bash that Barr’s involvement in the case is “just not normal.”

“I just think it’s outrageous, knowing how hard these career prosecutors work to do the right thing, how hard they worked on a case like Roger Stone’s, got him convicted, and then get undermined when it comes to the sentencing,” she said. “That’s just not normal.”