Tag: William Barr

Here’s the real reason Bill Barr has re-emerged to give us a double dose of crazy

AlterNet logoNew White House chief of staff Mark Meadows announced this week that onetime Trump campaign spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany will become the White House press secretary. The campaign is looking for a replacement and it seems that Attorney General William Barr may be auditioning for the role. Judging from his two-night interview with Laura Ingraham, he is as enthusiastic about the boss as one of the famed Mar-a-Lago Trumpettes.

We hadn’t heard much from Barr since he was scathingly chastised by a federal judge last month for his  “lack of candor” in public descriptions of the Mueller report, saying that Barr had “distorted the findings” of the April 2019 report in his notorious press conference and a letter to lawmakers. The judge demanded a full copy of the Mueller report to review in order to decide whether to reveal the entire document, without redactions.

It’s not every day that the attorney general of the United States is personally castigated by a federal judge. But it was obviously too much to hope that Barr had taken his criticism to heart and had decided to play it straight. His return to the spotlight this week showed that while he may not have contracted the coronavirus, his Fox News brain rot is still raging out of control. Continue reading.

Barr to testify before House Judiciary panel

The Hill logoAttorney General William Barr has agreed to give testimony before the House Judiciary Committee next month amid growing questions over the administration’s alleged interference in the criminal case of a close ally of President Trump.

Democrats on the panel released a letter Wednesday confirming Barr’s March 31 appearance, saying they are concerned the agency has become politicized under his watch.

“In the interest of transparency, we wish to be candid about one set of concerns we plan to address at the hearing. Since President Trump took office, we have repeatedly warned you and your predecessors that the misuse of our criminal justice system for political purposes is both dangerous to our democracy and unacceptable to the House Judiciary Committee,” they wrote. Continue reading.

William Barr says ‘communities’ that protest cops could lose ‘the police protection they need’

Washington Post logoSpeaking to a roomful of police officers and prosecutors on Tuesday, Attorney General William P. Barr drew a parallel between protests against soldiers during the Vietnam War and demonstrations against law enforcement today.

But this time, he suggested, those who don’t show “respect” to authority could lose access to police services.

“Today, the American people have to focus on something else, which is the sacrifice and the service that is given by our law enforcement officers. And they have to start showing, more than they do, the respect and support that law enforcement deserves,” Barr said in pointed remarks delivered at a Justice Department ceremony to honor police officers.

Continue reading

Trump appears to accidentally confirm key detail in report he asked Barr to lie about Ukraine

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump again disputed a Washington Post report on his talks with Attorney General William Barr with a curious denial.

The newspaper reported that Trump had asked the attorney general to hold a news conference absolving him of wrongdoing in his dealings with Ukraine, but the Post reported that Barr refused.

Trump claimed the report was “fake news” based on nonexistent sources in a Wednesday night tweet, and again attacked the report Thursday morning with an eyebrow-raising claim.

View the complete November 7 article by Travis Gettys from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

Trump wanted Barr to hold news conference saying the president broke no laws in call with Ukrainian leader

Washington Post logoPresident Trump wanted Attorney General William P. Barr to hold a news conference declaring that the commander in chief had broken no laws during a phone call in which he pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate a political rival, though Barr ultimately declined to do so, people familiar with the matter said.

The request from Trump traveled from the president to other White House officials and eventually to the Justice Department. The president has mentioned Barr’s demurral to associates in recent weeks, saying he wished Barr would have held the news conference, Trump advisers say.

In recent weeks, the Justice Department has sought some distance from the White House, particularly on matters relating to the burgeoning controversy over Trump’s dealings on Ukraine and the impeachment inquiry they sparked.

View the complete November 6 article by Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey and Carol D. Leonnig on The Washington Post website here.

Trump Lashes Out at Fox News Poll as Barr Meets With Murdoch

New York Times logoAttorney General William P. Barr met privately Wednesday evening with Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul who is one of President Trump’s frequent confidants but whose Fox News is viewed by the president as more hostile toward him than it used to be.

The meeting was held at Mr. Murdoch’s home in New York, according to someone familiar with it. It was unclear if anyone else attended or what was discussed. Aides to both Mr. Murdoch and Mr. Barr declined requests for comment on the meeting.

The visit took place as the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump by House Democrats has gathered momentum. Mr. Barr has emerged as a key defender of the president’s concerns about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mr. Barr was criticized in the spring for his handling of the report by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, before it was released publicly.

View the complete October 10 article by Maggie Haberman and Katie Benner on The New York Times website here.

GOP signals unease with Barr’s gun plan

The Hill logoSenate Republicans are treading cautiously on a background checks plan floated by Attorney General William Barr that has been decried as a “non-starter” by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Barr floated the proposal to GOP offices on Wednesday as the Senate inches toward doing something on gun control amid growing public pressure created by a seemingly endless string of mass shootings.

But Barr was careful to tell Republicans that his memo on background checks, titled “Idea for New Unlicensed-Commercial-Sale Background Checks,” did not have the backing of President Trump. 

View the complete September 18 article by Alexander Bolton and Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

Barr books Trump’s hotel for $30,000 holiday party

Washington Post logoExperts say private, 200-person party adds to questions about attorney general’s independence from president.

Attorney General William P. Barr is planning a holiday treat for his boss.

Last month, Barr booked President Trump’s D.C. hotel for a 200-person holiday party in December that is likely to deliver Trump’s business more than $30,000 in revenue.

Barr signed a contract, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, for a “Family Holiday Party” in the hotel’s Presidential Ballroom Dec. 8. The party will feature a buffet and a four-hour open bar for about 200 people.

View the complete August 27 Jonathan O’Connell and David A. Fahrenthold on The Washington Post website here.

‘This is your house!’ Former federal prosecutor lays into Bill Barr over unanswered questions from Epstein’s death

AlterNet logoElie Honig, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, on Monday demanded Attorney General William Barr answer for Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged suicide. The financier, who was awaiting trial for a host of federal charges including sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, died in his jail cell on Saturday. Details of his autopsy have yet to be released.

Speaking with CNN’s Brooke Baldwin, Honig explained that the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), where Epstein was held, is run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of Barr’s Department of Justice.

“Everything that goes into that prison comes out of that prison, moves within the prison is documented somehow … So there really should be a lot of clear answers that DOJ and the Office of Inspector General can and should get,” the former federal prosecutor said. “And if we don’t have answers, we should ask why not.”

View the complete August 12 article by Elizabeth Preza on the AlterNet website here.