It is disturbing to find that so much of what we consider good governance just turns out to be optional. Trump has trampled on all of the guidelines of a decent society, and no sternly worded letter is going to change that. I hope we have something with more teeth in it, and the willingness to use it.
And before we all get in a lather over how wishy-washy the word ātroublingā is, just understand that in the context of official bureaucratese, what Nadler just said (and what Barr most certainly read) is āI know you tried to pull a fast one, you son-of-a-bitch.ā
Keep up the pressure Mr. Nadlerā¦
I think this is accurate.
Now letās see what ensues.
I always challenge myself to consider issues from the other sideās perspective so I donāt turn into a partisan hack. In defense of Barr, one concern I have is how was he supposed to handle this in a way that was not political at all? Releasing summaries that damage Trump could be seen as someone with a criminal prosecution mandate wading into political Article I / impeachment / oversight issues. Mueller and DOJās scope is very limited to criminal charges. To the extent that there are impeachment (or related) concerns, that is entirely up to Congress to push forward, and Barr is under no obligation to douse gasoline on the flames to give a boost to Congressās oversight and potential impeachment efforts. Just seems like Barr was going to be damned and criticized no matter what he did, and since weāre all liberals on this site it seems like he made an objectively bad decision when it was only one that we subjectively disagree with for political bias reasons.
All this is AND the FMR** not INSTEAD
** Full Mueller Report
Or, āBitch, I see you. We all see you.ā Youāre right, though. The point is to let Barr know that he knows about these summaries and to apply maximum pressure on Barr to stop covering for the administration before he finds his own ass in a sling.
True indeed. Also, by governmental standards this is pretty rapid response. We are getting too used to the chaotic manner in which Trump jumps from one thing to another and that makes everything else seem slow and plodding.
Yeah and usually he has 2 or 3 plates spinning so weāre used to a lot of chaos from him.
Itās on. Things were already going to be tricky for them once the real report came out, but now that we know Barr had summaries he intentionally withheld so he could put out his own spin makes him look guilty as hell. Barr wasnāt just the boss over the obstruction case, heās also a member.
Release the Summaries!
- Could have always recused.
- Didnāt have to opine on obstruction (after he already did in his job application āmemoā).
- Let Congress do its job by giving it the info, post-haste. No reason for the delay. If Congress leaks, thatās not on him.
I disagree with him politically for a host of things heās done over his career. He also happens to have done an objectively bad job in this. (Ask a lawyer what they think of his take on obstructionā¦ Either the manās too stupid for his job or heās a hack.)
Barr couldnāt release the summaries and remain the presidentās lawyer: clearly, whatever was in them would have required that the whole report be made available to followup on the allegations they contained, which seemingly wouldnāt have āexoneratedā Hair Furor.
Such an outcome wasnāt included in, either, William Barrās job description or his application for employment.
Heās also breaking precedent bigly: He couldāve gone to a judge and gotten permission for the Judiciary Cmte to see the entire report. Thatās exactly what was done with Nixon and Clinton. He couldāve done it two weeks ago.
Barr has a lot more fortitude than I do.
Trump is mentally ill
McConnell is a sadist
So I excuse those two for psychiatric reasonsā¦but assuming Barr is ānormalā (like me 
)ā¦I could not imagine doing what Barr is now doing, things which will ālive in infamyā.
For a very long ttime.
Sure, Barr may be doing his job. Assuming his job is to protect Trump rather than the actual institutions he swore an oath to defend. He could have just handed over the summaries prepared by Muellerās team and been done with it.
Barrās job is Attorney General of the United States, not personal Trump lawyer. Barr owed us the report. We paid for it and he works for us, not the president.
The US taxpayer & China (through US bonds) pays Barrās salary. Show us the report.
Nadler is putting Barr in a box.
At this point he might be offering Jeff Sessions his old job back.