Five pieces by Quin on the Barr-Mueller hearings and fallout. Follow the links embedded in the headlines for the full stories. Note that some defend William Barr, others castigate him. It’s all about principles and facts, not about choosing sides.
Dems are wrong: Barr merits no criminal contempt charge (May 3): House Democrats are threatening to hold attorney general William Barr in contempt of Congress. They are acting prematurely and irresponsibly. …
House Democrats aren’t even in the right on the underlying disputes, much less on the idea that the impasses have reached a point in which a contempt citation should be imminent. Specifically, the House request for the unredacted report is understandable but, for now, misguided. Worse, the committee’s insistence on interview-by-staff-attorney is a cheap stunt…..
Mueller’s letter is not as big a deal as the media thinks (May 1):
As usual, the media is making too much of too little in its breathless coverage of a March 27 letter that special counsel Robert Mueller wrote to Attorney General William Barr.
Mueller’s letter complained that Barr’s original four-page summary of Mueller’s full report “did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of this Office’s work and conclusions.” … Mueller’s goal was to see his own summary released quickly, even as the full report was undergoing the proper review for necessary redactions. That was the extent of Mueller’s request and complaint. He did not make a stronger or more serious complaint about Barr’s work and did not use words like “vehemently object” or “strenuously disagree.”…
Barr was too snitty in defending Trump’s innocence (May 1):
It is hard not to rush to Attorney General William Barr’s defense against the usual Democratic partisan cheap shots in Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Nonetheless, Barr himself did some cheap shooting and misdirection of his own.
The result: Barr really does sound ever more like President Trump’s wingman than like the independent law enforcement chief he is supposed to be….
Barr’s theory would create a tyrannical presidency (May 2):
Attorney General William Barr three times now has tread on the dangerous ground of asserting that the president can assess his own guilt or innocence and, by extension, of the culpability of underlings as well.
Barr’s claims are meretricious nonsense….
Lindsey Graham outclasses Dems in his letter to Mueller (May 3): While House Democrats like the fried chicken guy play grandstanding “gotcha” games against President Trump and attorney general William Barr, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has demonstrated how respectful congressional oversight should be conducted….
