“I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody….whether it’s Congress, newspaper editorial boards, or the president,” Bill Barr tells @ABC News.
“I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.” https://t.co/14rnEMD65c pic.twitter.com/QuoTgpUVHp
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 13, 2020
Courtesy of ABC News:
In an exclusive interview, Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News on Thursday that President Donald Trump “has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case” but should stop tweeting about the Justice Department because his tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job.”
Barr’s comments are a rare break with a president who the attorney general has aligned himself with and fiercely defended. But it also puts Barr in line with many of Trump’s supporters on Capitol Hill who say they support the president but wish he’d cut back on his tweets.
“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Barr told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas.
When asked if he was prepared for the consequences of criticizing the president – his boss – Barr said “of course” because his job is to run the Justice Department and make decisions on “what I think is the right thing to do.”
The first question to ask is where in the hell was Bill Barr when those prosecutors in the Roger Stone case needed him to back them up and instead were forced to resign in protest?
This is nothing more than Barr covering his own ass after being outed as Trump’s flunky who has abdicated his responsibilities to this country.
It could be that this, and his decision to testify before Congress, might suggest that Trump is about to watch another former associate decide that the can no longer be a party to the destruction of this great nation, and now start telling the truth.
That would be awesome.
However this is Bill Barr, who has appeared not just complicit, but eagerly complicit, in making many of Trump’s most egregious impulses a reality.
So I just don’t trust him.
I would love for him to prove me wrong, but let’s see how this plays out shall we?
I agree with you, Gryphen. Don’t trust Barr for one second. We’ve heard him lie before (i.e. Barr’s BS Mueller Report summary). I think this is an act that Barr discussed wth Trump and was pre-approved in order to cover their asses in case of future prosecution for corruption.
his tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job.”
===========
LOL, meaning, trump let the cat out of the bag on the “secret”, corrupt dealings between the WH and the DOJ.
Again, he is twisting the truth when he says the president never asked him to do anything in a criminal case: trump doesn’t ASK, he DEMANDS, maybe trump didn’t CALL him, but he put the demand out there on twitter.
I wish they would televise his testimony in Congress so we can watch how many times he LIES to them again.
Trump is a manipulator. He does not make direct requests so he can evade accountability. People understand what Trump wants them to do and Trump says it in a way that he can deny. Cohen said Trump speaks in “code”.
We should never, ever believe anything that Barr says unless independent sources with facts back him up. I would not at all be surprised if Barr coordinated the interview with the WH in an attempt to show that he is independent of trump.
Misdirection. Either that or his tweets are drawing too much attention to the phones calls in which they collude to undermine our Constitution and the rule of law.
Trip a Dick.
Like Soap on a Rope.
Now where is Tricky Dicky to Dicktate?
Or is this another distraction from the fact that trump is extorting NY to get his lawsuits dropped?
trump diplomacy ( read extortion) doesn’t work with foreigners, so now he is going to use it on Americans.
The Trump administration has singled out New York for suspension of the Trusted Traveler Program. They’re using the issuance of driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants as the excuse, citing security. But we now know the *real* reason.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-tells-gov-cuomo-to-drop-new-york-state-lawsuits-against-him_n_5e45b22ec5b64433c61344e6
“President Donald Trump demanded New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) drop all of New York state’s lawsuits against him prior to a meeting between the two on Thursday to discuss the suspension of travel programs that would benefit immigrants, along with other New Yorkers.”
“Trump implied that the suspension could be lifted with a quid pro quo.
“New York must stop all of its unnecessary lawsuits & harassment, start cleaning itself up, and lower taxes,” he tweeted.”
So now we know how Trump is going to behave moving forward after his impeachment acquittal. He is going to be worse, go farther, push the limits and expect for there to be no consequences. What did he learn, Susan Collins? The answer is not a damned thing.
Well, there is *one* consequence. Not that it will last long after Trump vetoes it.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iran-war-trump-senate_n_5e456765c5b62573a58fc898
“More than one month after President Donald Trump ordered a missile strike that resulted in the death of a top Iranian general, the Senate passed a measure that would limit him from engaging in further hostilities against the country without first getting approval from Congress.
On Thursday, eight Republicans joined all Democrats and Independents in voting to advance a resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that would end “hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military” unless explicitly authorized. It required only a simple majority to clear the chamber.”
Personally, I am surprised Moscow Mitch allowed this to even come to the floor for a vote.
Who were the eight Republicans?
Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Todd Young of Indiana, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky
I notice Mitt Romney was not on the list.
Barr is telling Trump: “Stop pulling the fire alarm while I’m trying to quietly steal the crown jewels!!!!”
He means his job of covering up for Trump’s crimes. Barr can’t do that job if Trump keeps saying the quiet part out loud.
Who cares? Just pass some pussy.
Barr is just trying to make it seem that he and his Justice Dept. are independent of Don the Con when, in reality, they’re joined at the hip. Ever since he took on the position of AG, Barr has acted as if the entire Justice Dept. is there to do one thing only — serve as Don the Con’s personal lawyer. And it’s always been clear that Don the Con thinks that the Justice Dept. is his personal law firm, there to do anything nasty he wants.
drumpf just announced on Twitter he has the RIGHT to interfere in DOJ cases. Someone needs his balls cut off and shoved into his twitter fingers, while all wingnuts in every legislature need mandatory, rememdial civiocs lessons done in crasyon so they can follow along.
All the RWNJ’s need a frontal lobotomy, just for starters. After that, a castration for the orange muther fucker in charge. Bet he will never, ever receive any more sexual harassment complaints.
Not that he ever gave a shit.
There is an interesting article over at the Washington Post entitled, “This William Barr explanation just doesn’t make sense.” Summary: Bad lies. No common sense. More BS from AG Barr…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/14/this-william-barr-explanation-just-doesnt-make-much-sense/
Roger Stone’s recommended punishment has gone from 7-9 years to six months to probation. PROBATION!!
Of course, that doesn’t mean the judge is obligated to take them or restricted to the recommendations. The just can go ahead and give Stone 9 years. Of course, he he/she does, Trump will just pardon Stone.
https://news.yahoo.com/justice-dept-closes-case-against-172148927.html?guccounter=1
“Federal prosecutors have declined to charge former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, closing an investigation into whether the longtime target of President Donald Trump’s ire had lied to federal officials about his involvement in a news media disclosure, McCabe’s legal team said Friday.
The decision, coming at the end of a tumultuous week between the Justice Department and the White House, is likely to further agitate a president who has loudly complained that federal prosecutors have pursued cases against his allies but not against his perceived political enemies.”
“The decision is likely to further exacerbate tensions between and Trump and Barr, who before speaking out in the television interview had privately complained to aides and the president himself that Trump’s comments about the Justice Department were undercutting his political agenda and raising questions about the department’s credibility.”
Ya think?
https://news.yahoo.com/justice-department-won-t-charge-173723581.html?guccounter=1
“The Justice Department has told lawyers for former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe that they will not charge him with a crime, according to his spokesperson.
“At long last, justice has been done in this matter,” his lawyers said in a statement.
Justice Department officials told them in a letter and in a phone call that they would not pursue charges against him, the statement said. The Daily Beast reviewed a copy of the letter, which appears to be definitive.
“Based on the totality of the circumstances and all of the information known to the Government at this time, we consider this matter closed,” wrote J.P. Cooney, chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section in the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Molly Gaston, an assistant U.S. attorney in that section. ”
Right. Until Dullard Drumpf calls his lapdog Barr and demands that McCabe be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, even if they have to make shit up. Then he needs to be sentence to 20 years in Leavenworth. And James Comey too.