Tag: Bill Barr acting as Trump’s Roy Cohn

Top Democrats Urge Justice Dept Inspector General To Probe Barr

Two top Democrats are urging the Justice Department’s internal watchdogs to investigate slanderous remarks made by Attorney General William Barr about the intelligence community official who elevated the whistleblower complaint regarding Donald Trump.

Appearing on Fox News on April 9, Barr said Trump had done “the right thing” when he fired former intelligence investigator general Michael Atkinson, suggesting that Atkinson had exceeded his mandate as IG by exploring “anything” and then reporting it back to Congress. But in a letter to two Justice Department officials, the Democratic chairs of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees said Barr had “blatantly mischaracterized” Atkinson’s conduct.

“Mr. Barr’s remarks followed the President’s admission on April 4 that he fired Mr. Atkinson in retaliation for Mr. Atkinson’s handling—in accordance with the law—of the whistleblower complaint,” Reps. Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler wrote. “Mr. Barr’s misleading remarks appear to have been aimed at justifying the President’s retaliatory decision to fire Mr. Atkinson.” Continue reading.

IG finds Treasury handled House request for Trump tax returns properly

The Hill logoThe Treasury Department’s inspector general office found that the department “properly” processed House Democrats’ request for President Trump‘s tax returns when it refused to turn over the documents to the Ways and Means Committee.

In a memo, the IG also said it found Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s supervision of the process to be consistent with its rules.

The memo said it found Treasury’s receipt, processing and responses to the request and subpoenas from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) “to be consistent with Treasury’s general process for handling Congressional correspondence.” Continue reading.

41 prosecutors blast Attorney General Barr for ‘dangerous and failed’ approach to criminal justice

Washington Post logoForty-one elected prosecutors in a joint statement condemned Attorney General William P. Barr for his recent rhetoric that attacked progressive policies, arguing that his “dangerous and failed” approach to criminal justice disproportionately punished poor people and racial minorities while diverting resources away from more serious crimes.

“Sadly, we are perceived as a threat by some who are wedded to the status quo or, even worse, failed policies of past decades,” the 41 state, county and city prosecutors wrote. “Critics such as Attorney General William P. Barr seek to bring us back to a time when crime was high, success was measured by how harsh the punishment was, and a fear-driven narrative prevailed.”

In their statement, the signatories warned against returning to a “‘tough on crime’ era” that ignored facts and encouraged mass incarceration. Instead, they argued, evidence shows that a data-based approach is not only more effective, but also strengthens community trust. Continue reading.

House Judiciary Goes After AG Barr Over Back Channel For Giuliani To Give Info On Ukraine

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote a letter to the attorney general demanding answers about the DOJ’s new “intake process” to vet tips from Rudy Giuliani.

The House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Monday demanding answers regarding the Justice Department’s new so-called “intake process” to receive information from Rudy Giuliani about Ukraine and the Bidens.

Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-N.Y.) letter comes hours after Barr admitted that the department would evaluate material that Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, had collected from Ukrainian sources claiming to have damaging information about 2020 candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

Giuliani’s gathering of such information was a huge part of Trump’s attempt to get Ukraine to announce an investigation into the Bidens ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which led to the president’s impeachment (and eventual acquittal). Much of what the former New York City mayor has said to media outlets so far has consisted of conspiracy theories and misinformation. Continue reading.

Justice Department acknowledges 24 emails reveal Trump’s thinking on Ukraine

Washington Post logoHours after the Senate voted against seeking new evidence in the impeachment case against President Trump, the administration acknowledged the existence of two dozen emails that could reveal the president’s thinking about withholding military aid to Ukraine.

In a midnight court filing, the Justice Department explained why it shouldn’t have to unredact copies of more than 100 emails written by officials at the Office of Management and Budget and the Defense Department about the hold on funds to Ukraine.

Heather Walsh, an OMB lawyer, wrote that of the 111 redacted emails in the lawsuit, 24 are protected by “presidential privilege.” Continue reading.

Parnas attorney asks William Barr to recuse himself from investigation

The Hill logoA lawyer for Lev Parnas, an associate of President Trump‘s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, is asking Attorney General William Barr to recuse himself from an investigation into alleged campaign finance violations against Parnas.

Joseph Bondy made the request in a letter sent to Barr and filed in New York federal court on Monday, CNN reported. In it, Bondy argues that Barr has a “conflict of interest” in the matter and that he should appoint a special prosecutor from outside the Justice Department to handle the case.

“Given the totality of the circumstances, we believe it is appropriate for you to recuse yourself from the ongoing investigation and pending prosecution of Mr. Parnas,” wrote Bondy.  Continue reading.

Attorney general reschedules Trump hotel holiday party. DOJ won’t disclose the date.

Washington Post logoWilliam Barr is sticking with the Trump hotel as a venue after a party planned for Sunday night was canceled.

Attorney General William P. Barr had planned to hold a 200-person holiday party at the Trump hotel in Washington Sunday night, but the event was rescheduled, according to a Justice Department spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman declined to say when the event would take place but said it would still be at the Trump International Hotel, a choice that prompted critics to question Barr’s independence from Trump, who still profits from his business while in office.

Barr has been a key defender of President Trump, including Monday when he criticized an inspector general’s report examining the FBI’s investigation into possible coordination between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Twice this week, Justice Department attorneys are defending Trump in court against suits claiming the president illegally benefits from his business while in office.

William Barr’s full-throated defense of the Unitary theory of executive power is built on a fictional reading of constitutional design

AlterNet logoAttorney General William Barr’s November 15 speech before the Federalist Society, delivered at its annual National Lawyers Convention, received considerable attention.Barr attacked what he views as progressives’ unscrupulous and relentless attacks on President Trump and Senate Democrats’ “abuse of the advice-and-consent process.” Ironies notwithstanding, the core analysis of his speech is a full-throated defense of the Unitary theory of executive power, which purports to be an Originalist view of the Founders’ intent.

This defense, however, reveals the two fundamental flaws of the Unitary view: first, that it is built on a fictional reading of constitutional design; and second, that its precepts attack the fundamental tenets of the checks and balances system that the Founders did create.

Barr’s speech begins with his complaint that presidential power has been weakened in recent decades by the “steady encroachment” of executive powers by the other branches. Even allowing for congressional resurgence in the post-Watergate era of the 1970s, no sane analysis of the Reagan era forward could buttress Barr’s ahistorical claim. Ironically, the presidents in this time period who suffered political reversals—Bill Clinton’s impeachment and the thwarting of Barack Obama’s agenda by congressional Republicans in his final six years of office—nevertheless emerged from their terms with the office intact in powers and prestige.

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Barr’s handpicked prosecutor tells inspector general he can’t back right-wing theory that Russia case was U.S. intelligence setup

Washington Post logoThe prosecutor handpicked by Attorney General William P. Barr to scrutinize how U.S. agencies investigated President Trump’s 2016 campaign said he could not offer evidence to the Justice Department’s inspector general to support the suspicions of some conservatives that the case was a setup by American intelligence, people familiar with the matter said.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s office contacted U.S. Attorney John Durham, the prosecutor Barr personally tapped to lead a separate review of the 2016 probe into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, the people said. The inspector general also contacted several U.S. intelligence agencies.

Among Horowitz’s questions: whether a Maltese professor who interacted with a Trump campaign adviser was actually a U.S. intelligence asset deployed to ensnare the campaign, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the inspector general’s findings have not been made public.

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