Tag: Barr helping Trump weaken American democracy

Barr Told Prosecutors to Consider Sedition Charges for Protest Violence

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Attorney General William P. Barr was also said to have asked prosecutors to explore whether to bring charges against the mayor of Seattle for allowing a police-free protest zone.

WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr told federal prosecutors in a call last week that they should consider charging rioters and others who had committed violent crimes at protests in recent months with sedition, according to two people familiar with the call.

The highly unusual suggestion to charge people with insurrection against lawful authority alarmed some on the call, which included U.S. attorneys around the country, said the people, who described Mr. Barr’s comments on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

The attorney general has also asked prosecutors in the Justice Department’s civil rights division to explore whether they could bring criminal charges against Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle for allowing some residents to establish a police-free protest zone near the city’s downtown for weeks this summer, according to two people briefed on those discussions. Late Wednesday, a department spokesman said that Mr. Barr did not direct the civil rights division to explore this idea. Continue reading.

Bill Barr sued in a personal capacity as protesters who were gassed seek damages for injuries

AlterNet logoProtesters are suing President Donald Trump, Attorney General William Barr and a number of federal officials after they were tear-gassed to clear the way for an administration photo-op.

“This case is about the president and attorney general of the United States ordering the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators who were speaking out against discriminatory police brutality targeted at Black people,” the complaint reads.

The suit was filed on behalf of Black Lives Matter DC, along with a handful of individual protesters, by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU), in conjunction with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Arnold & Porter LLP. Continue reading.

Trump and Barr’s big 2020 gambit looks like a big dud

AlterNet logoFigures in the right-wing media ecosystem have been patiently waiting for what they surely believe will be massive bombshells from Attorney General Bill Barr’s probe of the origins of the Russia investigation. And Barr has knowingly whetted their appetites, offering a series of teases suggesting that he and U.S. Attorney John Durham are uncovering some nefarious plot against President Donald Trump, despite the Justice Department rules against discussing ongoing investigations.

As I’ve argued before, it’s clear that Barr sees his role as, in part, defending Trump from the negative media coverage generated by the Russia investigation. And it’s becoming clearer each day that, as I’ve long suspected, Barr anticipates and perhaps intends for the Durham investigation to benefit Trump electorally.

Asked directly last month if he would be cautious about making overt moves around the Durham investigation in the run-up to the 2020 election, Barr dismissed the concerns.