“Attorney
General William Barr testified [yesterday] before
the House Judiciary Committee. His combative answers confirmed that he is
Trump’s man. He is committed to the narrative that dangerous anarchists are
endangering law and order, and that Trump was unfairly targeted by FBI agents
in what Barr calls ‘Russiagate.’
“Helping him to bolster this narrative were the Republicans on the
committee, especially Jim Jordan (R-OH), who began the Republican side of the
questioning with both his signature rapid-fire yelling and a video deceptively
edited to give the impression that the country and its police are under siege
by violent protesters, and that Trump’s crackdowns are necessary to stop them.
He is also on board with ginning up accusations of impropriety over the Russia
investigation: he began his tirade with the word ‘Spying!’ (An investigation by
the Justice Department’s inspector general says the investigation was begun
properly, and the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously
endorsed that conclusion.)
“House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) permitted
Jordan to show the video, but afterward noted that the committee’s rules
required him to say he was doing such a thing 48 hours in advance, which Jordan
did not. For Jordan, Congressional hearings are all theater to get sound bites and
footage for later news clips that will tell a misleading narrative. As
Democrats spoke over Barr, Jordan repeatedly complained at their behavior,
saying ‘I do not think we have ever had a hearing where the witness was not
allowed to respond to points made, questions asked, and attacks made.’ Jordan,
of course, is famous for being the member of Congress most notable for
precisely this behavior.
“Barr’s stance is that he is defending the rule of law in America.
When Nadler pressed him on whether the crackdowns were simply an effort to aid
Trump’s reelection, Barr said he has chosen the cities he has for ‘neutral’
reasons. (They are all Democratic cities, and the Trump campaign has used video
from the crackdowns in campaign ads.)
“Barr denied that he had interfered inappropriately in Trump’s
friend Roger Stone’s sentencing, although when Representative Ted Deutch (D-FL)
asked him to name any other case where the DOJ had called for a more lenient
sentence for a defendant who had threatened a judge and a witness, Barr did not
answer the question.
“Barr denied that he ordered the protesters removed from Lafayette
Square in Washington, D.C. to enable Trump’s photo-op in front of St. John’s
church, although he did say he had learned that afternoon that Trump might walk
to the church. He also said that the officers clearing the square did not use
tear gas, although recent testimony from Washington, D.C. National Guard Major
Adam DeMarco says they did.
“Committee Republicans cheered Barr on. Representative Ken Buck
(R-CO) asked Barr to use anti-racketeering laws against the protesters. ‘General
Barr, this has to stop,’ he said. ‘We can’t let antifa continue terrorizing our
country.’
“The most memorable moment of the hearing was when Representative
Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) asked Barr why he had responded so differently to the
Portland protesters than he did to the armed anti-mask protesters who had
swarmed the Michigan Capitol and called for the Michigan Governor Gretchen
Whitmer, a Democrat, to be ‘lynched, shot, and beheaded.’
“Barr first said he did not know about the Michigan events (this
is not believable), and then suggested he was deferring to the state governor.
This is belied by the deployment of federal officers in Oregon despite the
strong opposition of Oregon Governor Kate Brown. More convincingly, Barr said
he was deploying federal forces to defend federal property. Jayapal pointed out
that a more likely difference between the two responses was that, in Michigan,
white supremacists were threatening to behead a Democratic governor, and in
Oregon, protesters were supporting BlackLivesMatter. Overall, the Attorney
General signaled that he has every intention of doing all he can to keep Trump
in office.
“Although the
DOJ has a policy of avoiding roiling the country in the 60 days before an
election, Barr says that he will, in fact, feel free within that period to
release the results of the pending examination he commissioned into the Russia
investigation when it became clear the DOJ’s official inspector general had
found the probe was lawfully begun. When that happened, Barr tapped the U.S.
Attorney for the District of Connecticut, John Durham, to launch his own
investigation, traveling with him to Italy and the United Kingdom to talk to
people in those countries to investigate the actions of our Intelligence
Community. Today, Barr said ‘Any
report will be, in my judgment, not one that is covered by the policy and would
disrupt the election.’
“And yet, while today’s questioning was
about Durham’s report, Barr has repeatedly said that the Russia probe was ‘one
of the greatest travesties in American history,’ and that Durham’s job is not
to ‘prepare a report’ but establish criminal violations that will lead to
prosecutions. Trump supporters expect that Durham’s report will have an important
effect on the campaign.
“When Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) asked Barr if it was
ever appropriate for a president to solicit or accept foreign assistance in an
U.S. election” Barr first responded: ‘Depends on what kind of assistance.’ After
Cicilline made it clear he meant any kind of assistance, Barr answered: ‘No,
it’s not appropriate.’ (According to Federal Elections Commission Chair Ellen
Weintraub it is illegal.)
“Barr reiterated the president’s stance that mail-in ballots will
create massive fraud. There is no evidence that this is the case, and many
states already have such a system. Indeed, Barr himself, as well as the
president, have used mail-in ballot themselves. Barr also said he would leave
office if Trump is not reelected, ‘if the results are clear…’” (Heather Cox Richardson).
Notes:
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