More than 1,000 former U.S. Justice Department officials Sunday called for Attorney General William Barr to resign over his handling of the trial of a longtime adviser of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The former officials, who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, criticized Barr, the country's top law enforcement officer, for overruling his own prosecutors in a case that has prompted accusations that the Trump administration is weakening the rule of law.

On Tuesday, the Justice Department abandoned prosecutors' initial recommendation to give the veteran Republican operative Roger Stone seven to nine years in prison after he was found guilty in November of seven counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering, prompting all four prosecutors to quit the case.