I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE, BUT TO WHOM?
BILL BARR TURNED THE MUELLER REPORT INTO A LEGAL DEFENSE IN FAVOR OF THE DON. HIS HISTORICAL LEGACY WON’T BE A REFLECTION OF ANY PREVIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS, BUT ONLY THE ESCAPADES OF HIS ANTICS WITH THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S ANTICS PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE AND DODGING CHARGES OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.
William Barr is the Attorney General of the United States; his business is the business of the people and that is to uphold the rule of law to and provide information to Congress. Instead, Barr decided to not testify honesty before Congress and say what Donald Trump wanted him to say. He decided to violate his duty as one of America’s chief lawmakers and lie from the onset.
We now know that Barr not only made the report available to the White House prior to sharing it with the public, but he also made his redactions clear to Trump, providing the White House with the information he refused to give to Congress. The advance notice allowed Trump’s personal legal team to tailor a “counter report” to be released to attack the conclusions that are still visible in the redacted report.
Through his lies and his actions, Barr has worked to disguise the contents of the report. He has given intentionally confusing and deceptive responses on what he has shared with the White House. He has continually, and explicitly made every choice in a way that protects Trump.
Even aside from the way he has handled the Mueller report, Barr has demonstrated that he holds not just a singular view of an all-powerful unitary executive, but a view of the attorney general’s role that is basically incompatible with the needs of the nation.
The United States needs an Attorney General willing to serve the interests of the American people, not the whims of an autocrat. Bill Barr has turned himself into Trump’s personal lawyer. He must go.
Here Barr, without expressly saying what Mueller had in mind, move into an inconclusive summary crafting a bad argument.
Here’s the framework:
The Precondition — First, Barr lays out three preconditions that need to be met for the crime of obstruction of justice to have occurred: Obstructive conduct, corrupt intent, and a connection to some legal proceeding (such as a criminal trial).
The standard — Then he notes that simply believing all those preconditions appear to be satisfied isn’t enough. They have to be proven beyond any doubt that could be considered reasonable.
The decision — Then Barr delivers the pièce de résistance, saying he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined that nothing Trump did meets that standard of proof for those elements of the criminal statute. In a key sentence, Barr writes: “The report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent.”
That corrupt intent part means “there must be a knowing and dishonest state of mind to obstruct, influence, or impede an investigation,” The evidence was all there, but he chose to ignore it because he chose not to examine it. By ignoring the truth, he intended to contaminate the truth, avoid the moral consequences owed by his office to the people of this country.
William Barr actively sought to mislead Congress about the conclusions of the Mueller Report. The attorney general holds a narrowminded, undemocratic view of presidential power — one that would place presidents and their actions above the law and their actions not subject to control, no matter what. America was never meant to be, nor can it be allowed to become an autocracy.
Our Message to Congress and to the People Who Seek a Democracy:
Bill Barr has turned himself into Donald Trump’s personal attorney and disgraced the office of the attorney general. Respect for the rule of law is paramount in any democracy, but Barr has broken those rules. This is a no brainer. However, it begs the question of what Donald Trump has to hide. Why would he go to such limits to cover up the Mueller report? If there is nothing damaging to him personally or politically, why not make the investigation accessible? The People of the United States paid for the Mueller investigation with its tax dollars, so shouldn’t they be privy to its contents? To make matters worse, he is creating tension with Iran in order to deflect from his own self-made crisis at home. If he has a concern about nuclear firepower, why is he offering it to the Saudis? While Washington is set to turn its big guns on Iran, the Trump administration has pursued a deal on sharing U.S. nuclear power technology with the rogues in Riyadh. Worst of all, he is willing to send your sons and daughters to fight in the kind of war that he lied to skip out of himself, the kind of war that none of his sons or relatives will see. These are the battles that other people tend to fight and die in.
The American people need better. Bill Barr was appropriately held in contempt. Now there is a need to impeach Trump, whose overwhelming crimes are hard to count. Both betrayed the people of this country and further tarnish the reputation of America in the eyes of the world.
