William Barr's Reputation

[Tekate]

@redwood66 Here I am at 66 a Grandma.. greatest job so far! xoxo

 

[redwood66]

@redwood66 Here I am at 66 a Grandma.. greatest job so far! xoxo

I think this is so awesome and I am so happy for you! Enjoy every minute!

I may never be one as my sons have no desire to settle down. Maybe that will change someday.

 

[redwood66]

One has to love this quote from NR:

Strangely enough, this process has become an obsession for Democrats and the press and the focus of endless conspiracy theories.

Benghazi! comes to my mind, I mean define obsession, yet this was okay by republicans and now the NR thinks Barr lying thru his teeth isn't worth pressing on? Ha! hypocrisy at its best.

We have had and seems will continue to have "Hillary's emails" and "Benghazi" ad infinitum I don't know why in hell NR and the Federalist (of which I cannot really bear to read for any length of time no offense to you, we all read what supports our opinions).

I say we keep this going till the cows come home.

Sad to say but this may be our politics from now on. Both sides investigating the other all through a presidency. Don't think the next dem president will have it easy after the last two presidents.

 

[Tekate]

Thanks Deb! it's been so much fun, if you can, post some pix of your new grand nieces/nephews, if you go over to NIRDI's you can see some pix of my Autie!

xoxox

I liked this because I wanted to say congratulations on your new grand baby, Kate. At Easter my first cousin and his wife showed photos of their first grandchild who arrived on St. Patrick's Day. My brother and his wife await the birth of their first grandchild any day. Their daughter's due date is April 27.

 

[Tekate]

Well, time will tell, I think your boys are my younger son's age (27ish?) Mke is 31 Red.. 'bout time, he's been with his wife since he was 19! xoxox

I think this is so awesome and I am so happy for you! Enjoy every minute!

I may never be one as my sons have no desire to settle down. Maybe that will change someday.

 

[soxfan]

https://thefederalist.com/2019/05/0...t-staff-question-witnesses-like-william-barr/

 

[AGBF]

the entire report... is now out for all to read... Which he was not required to do btw,

Yes, so Barr condescends to keep telling us. The problem is that is he didn't release it, one of two things (or maybe two of two things) would have happened within a couple of weeks:

1) mass demonstrations around the country by furious citizens of all stripes who have been awaiting the release of the Mueller report the way the religious await or awaited (depending on their faith) the coming of the Messiah and,

2) the report would leak, probably from multiple sources, and possibly totally unredacted.

You can't keep the American people down the way Trump wants to. Barr knew that. He didn't want to face the consequences of trying to keep the Mueller report secret because he (supposedly) had the power to do so. Many a dictator thought he had the power to do things it turned out he did not have the power to do.

AGBF

 

[redwood66]

Oh for pete's sake, he was always going to release it from the moment he took the job.

 

[smitcompton]

HI,

I have said this before, but I really think my comments deserve more consideration. This new uproar is not the fault of AG Barr. (Yes, I think he lied) This sits with Robert Mueller. Apparently, there was an earlier meeting with Mueller, Barr and Rosenstein where Barr asked Mueller to tell him what conclusions he came to. Mueller said he wouldn't recommend charges in either the obstruction or criminal conspiracy part of the investigation. Barr said he was annoyed at Mueller for not making a decision.. Mueller left it to Barr deliberately. So Barr ran with it, saying he thought if Mueller wasn't ever going to make a decision on charges, due to department regs, why investigate at all. I agree.

This is where the word leadership comes in. Mueller has demeaned his own work. If Trump is not criminally charged, then he is not guilty, as in any criminal action. This is a bit ridiculous, because we all saw him obstruct. Yes, the report can go to congress, and they must start their own investigation. What in Gods name did we just spend two yrs doing--investigating.

I had to turn off the news last night. Both Trump and Barr know how to be the Bull in a china shop.
They just keep plowing ahead. Today, Trump and Barr have won, IMO end of rant..
DF is going to end up right.
Annette

 

[AGBF]

I have said this before, but I really think my comments deserve more consideration. This new uproar is not the fault of AG Barr. (Yes, I think he lied) This sits with Robert Mueller.

Annette,

Mueller laid out the blueprint with which Congress could impeach Trump. That is the legal remedy for dealing with the crimes of a president while he is in office. You may be right that Mueller was too delicate, but I understand his reasoning. If one buys into the notion that one should not (according to Justice department rules) indict a sitting president, what Mueller did makes sense. Essentially he told Congress to impeach Trump for obstruction of justice if they saw fit to do so, and he provided Congress with all the evidence they needed to convict him.

Had Barr not intervened, Congress would have received this message from Mueller without interference.

Deb

 

[Maria D]

HI,

I have said this before, but I really think my comments deserve more consideration. This new uproar is not the fault of AG Barr. (Yes, I think he lied) This sits with Robert Mueller. Apparently, there was an earlier meeting with Mueller, Barr and Rosenstein where Barr asked Mueller to tell him what conclusions he came to. Mueller said he wouldn't recommend charges in either the obstruction or criminal conspiracy part of the investigation. Barr said he was annoyed at Mueller for not making a decision.. Mueller left it to Barr deliberately. So Barr ran with it, saying he thought if Mueller wasn't ever going to make a decision on charges, due to department regs, why investigate at all. I agree.

This is where the word leadership comes in. Mueller has demeaned his own work. If Trump is not criminally charged, then he is not guilty, as in any criminal action. This is a bit ridiculous, because we all saw him obstruct. Yes, the report can go to congress, and they must start their own investigation. What in Gods name did we just spend two yrs doing--investigating.

I had to turn off the news last night. Both Trump and Barr know how to be the Bull in a china shop.
They just keep plowing ahead. Today, Trump and Barr have won, IMO end of rant..
DF is going to end up right.
Annette

Annette, your posts always deserve consideration! I agree that Mueller dropped the ball regarding a concrete conclusion on Trump and that the blame isn't on Barr for that one. However, the investigation did expose many crimes resulting in convictions, guilty pleas, and sentences. So I disagree that the investigation shouldn't have happened at all if Mueller wasn't going to decide on charges for Trump.

I agree that Congress must start their own investigation (what choice do they have?) but I do not want them to get bogged down in nothing but Mueller investigation hearings. Healthcare and environmental issues are the top two that are most important to me; that's where I'd like to see the focus.

As for DF ending up right - he's already right that the only way to get rid of Trump is to elect someone else in 2020.

 

[Dancing Fire]

As for DF ending up right - he's already right that the only way to get rid of Trump is to elect someone else in 2020.

I said it many times here. The Dems are wasting time talking about Russians and impeachment. Let the American voters decide in 2020.

 

[AGBF]

I said it many times here. The Dems are wasting time talking about Russians and impeachment. Let the American voters decide in 2020.

It may be pragmatic, but it sets a terrible example in the law. Congress should not continue to give up power to the executive branch; it has given up far too much power already. It is now time for Congress to reclaim power. The only way for Congress to reclaim power may be with legislation. Congress may have to pass laws to specify acts which the executive branch cannot commit as it did with The War Powers Act, which should not have been necessary given that it is Congress which has the Constitutional power to declare war.

AGBF

 

[AGBF]

I wanted to be sure Annette saw this. I would also like to know what Matata thinks of it.

As for my opinion: sometimes I find Maureen Dowd silly, but I thought she was on the mark with this piece. The combination of a villainous William Barr and a tragically flawed Bob Mueller, whom Annette has been pointing out to us for weeks now, has led to a national disgrace.

As Dowd says, "Sometimes it’s hard to know who is worse: devils or saints."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/01/opinion/sunday/dowd-robert-mueller-william-barr.html

 

[Matata]

All I care to say is that Mueller is not not a villain and he has disappointed me immensely

 

[Matata]

so immensely that I have dangled my adjective.

 

[AGBF]

Well...it was Barr whom Dowd was casting as the villain, of course. Mueller was the flawed hero. Barr was the devil; Mueller was the saint. And I didn't notice any dangling adjective. Did you correct it?

 

[Lula]

I said it many times here. The Dems are wasting time talking about Russians and impeachment. Let the American voters decide in 2020.

I agree. And I think Nancy Pelosi agrees with you as well DF!

 

[Dancing Fire]

I agree. And I think Nancy Pelosi agrees with you as well DF!

Pelosi is a smart cookie. She knows it won't happen. Sadly for her she's being pushed around by the young radical left members of the house.

 

[Lula]

Pelosi is a smart cookie. She knows it won't happen. Sadly for her she's being pushed around by the young radical left members of the house.

All true. But for now Pelosi has everyone right where she wants them. She is playing the long game. Unfortunately, so is Trump. Fascinating political theater.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Hi,

Deb, I did read MD's opinion piece yesterday. I admit I was happy to see someone else sees what I see. David Ignaious wrote about Mueller, "he came in like a lamb, when we needed a Lion." Mueller is no hero. I find him quite cowardly. I think is entirely correct when Barr says Mueller could easily have said they found the President guilty of obstruction. Mueller chose not to do that and now wants us to read the report, for that is his testimony. I know you Deb, did read the report, but most didn't and won't read it. To me, its tragic.

The President has a point in saying he has been cleared of wrong doing. He has not been charged in any way with a crime, and while this doesn't make him innocent, it does make him not guilty, as of the report.

We will see what happens. What has occurred with this past election will not be undone by ousting DT. To me, this is a turning point in American history. There are big cracks showing.

Annette

 

[Tekate]

OMG the radical left, pablum for the radical right.

Pelosi is a smart cookie. She knows it won't happen. Sadly for her she's being pushed around by the young radical left members of the house.

 

[AGBF]

Is There A Bridge Too Far Even For Barr? (I Think Not.)

"WASHINGTON — For a while at least, he seemed to have found his Roy Cohn, a lawyer to defend him against his accusers and go after his enemies. But the relationship between President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr may be growing more complicated with the rising threat of impeachment.

Rather than publicly join the fight against House Democrats pursuing the president, Mr. Barr has remained out of the fray, resisting requests by intermediaries from Mr. Trump to go before the cameras to say no crime had been committed. While Mr. Barr exonerated the president in the spring at the end of the Russia investigation, he has been more reticent in the current matter.
The reluctance hints at a new distance between the two men, according to people who have spoken with them. Mr. Trump, angry with his coverage, is aggravated with Mr. Barr for urging him to release a reconstructed transcript of the telephone call with Ukraine’s president at the center of the impeachment drive. For his part, Mr. Barr was bothered that Mr. Trump on that call lumped him together with Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s private lawyer, like interchangeable parts of his personal defense team.

The two remain on much better terms than Mr. Trump was with his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, whom he repeatedly berated in public for not protecting him from the Russia investigation and eventually fired. The president has given Mr. Barr extensive leeway and largely deferred to his judgment. Mr. Barr has spoken with pride about how much Mr. Trump relies on him and treats him as a confidant.

But the impeachment debate seems to be testing those ties as House Democrats investigate whether Mr. Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanors by using his office to pressure Ukraine to provide incriminating information about former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and other Democrats. The Justice Department concluded there was no campaign finance violation, but Mr. Barr has not gone beyond that.

“The easiest read of this is, yes, there’s a limit,” said Harry Litman, who served as a deputy assistant attorney general under President Bill Clinton. “Yes, he will push the envelope, but if it’s not plausible to say there’s no crime, he won’t do it.”

Mr. Trump on Thursday angrily denied a report in The Washington Post, which was confirmed by The New York Times, that he wanted Mr. Barr to hold a news conference to say that the president had broken no laws, only to be rebuffed by the attorney general.

In a Twitter post, Mr. Trump called The Post’s article “pure fiction,” adding: “We both deny this story, which they knew before they wrote it. A garbage newspaper!” Mr. Barr, however, did not publicly deny the account.

Late Thursday, Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, said, “It was President Trump who decided to release the entire, unredacted phone call showing everyone he’s done nothing wrong, and while shady sources attempt to push a false narrative of division, the president has a great relationship with the attorney general and respects his decades of service to this country.”
I
The attorney general’s public absence in recent weeks contrasted with his willingness to act as Mr. Trump’s defender after the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, wrapped up his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and ties between Moscow and Mr. Trump’s campaign."

Impeachment Inquiry Tests Ties Between Barr and Trump (Published 2019)

The attorney general has not jumped in to publicly defend the president against the Democratic inquiry as he did with the Mueller investigation.

www.nytimes.com

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

It has been suggested on MSNBC that the criminal division of the justice dept was not informed that Guliani was under investigation and that perhaps Attorney General Barr wants to downplay his role because there may be something more nefarious coming about his involvement in the Ukraine deal.
He is very untrustworthy.

By the way, I saw such a surprising example of how many are affected by this Pres. Leon Cooperman, a billionaire, openly wept on CNBC while trying to discuss Elizabeth Warrens wealth tax. He wrote her a letter explaining why it was a bad idea, but agreeing to an increase in our progressive income tax system. He, like Warren Buffet, is willing to pay more in taxes. He said, Trump was much like Ronald Reagon in his policies. However, he has divided the country so much, by his un-Presidential conduct, he ought to declare a victory now, citing the good economy and not run for office again. At this point he broke down.

Our own DF mentioned Ronald Reagon 's policies in another thread. I believe this is where DF got that info. He forgot to mention Leon Cooperman was so upset by DT he cried on air. Ronald Reagon is the reason we have so many illegals. He gave amnesty to 3 million illegals during his tenure as Pres. People warned him that would only incentivize more to com, which I did.

The only people who don't seem to care are those Republicans in Congress

Annette.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Our own DF mentioned Ronald Reagon 's policies in another thread. I believe this is where DF got that info. He forgot to mention Leon Cooperman was so upset by DT he cried on air. Ronald Reagon is the reason we have so many illegals. He gave amnesty to 3 million illegals during his tenure as Pres. People warned him that would only incentivize more to com, which I did.

Annette.

I'm still in favor of issuing green cards to all the dreamers w/o a criminal record. However, at the same time we must close the border on illegals coming into the US.

 

[AGBF]

A federal judge, Reggie B. Walton, has just spoken on Barr's credibility. Here is a link to the article for anyone who is interested. (It is in, "The New York Times".)

Judge Calls Barr’s Handling of Mueller Report ‘Distorted’ and ‘Misleading’ (Published 2020)

The judge said the attorney general lacked credibility on the matter and said he would review the report to decide whether to make its redacted portions public.

www.nytimes.com

 

[redwood66]

He doesn't have the authority to make anything public.

 

[AGBF]

He doesn't have the authority to make anything public.

I was far more concerned about the conclusions that this senior federal judge, appointed by a Republican president, reached about Bill Barr (namely that he is a liar), than with anything the judge was going to make public. I will let the law decide what a judge can do.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/0namely tha 3/05/us/politics/mueller-report-barr-judge-walton.html

 

[Tekate]

That doesn't do a thing for Barr's image of being a good, upstanding, non lying, human, lawyer being does it?

Barr is maybe crazier than Trump, probably not as crazy as Cruz though.

He doesn't have the authority to make anything public.