I hope we find that out definitively. If he was so by the book, I don’t think he would have made the decision to leave it up to his bosses to decide there was no obstruction. I think his report conformed to their wishes in this regard. I hope we find out. At this point his decision doesn’t make a lot of sense if he is a by the book guy. I know I’m not buying Barr’s summary.
6 Likes
Iran-Contra. Trump-Russia.
Barr is 2 for 2 in his big cases affecting the nation, the Constitution, how our government works… Consistently protecting Republicans and Republican presidents.
All of this about the obstruction decision makes you wonder who made the decisions about not indicting Junior and Kushner, since Mueller could be oredered not to do so by Rosenstein or Barr.
39 Likes
I just read this in politico.
Barr did not consult with Mueller before sending the letter Sunday characterizing Mueller’s findings, according to a Justice Department official.
So maybe Mueller wasn’t involved in the final decision, but I am still puzzled why he left it up to Barr and Rosenstien. He was selected to make that decision, out of the politics, and he failed to do so.
29 Likes
Sad, but true. There is no way that the office of legal counsel weighed in in less than 24 hours as Barr claimed, and his reasoning that there was ‘no collusion’ (actually I am sure what the report actually says is ‘insufficient evidence to support a charge of conspiracy’) charge, and as such no obstruction is just legally wrong. First, you don’t need an convicted or charged crime for obstruction, and second, there is politically damaging actions that trump seeks/sought to prevent coming out, the revelation of which he sought to obstruct.
No one should/can trust Barr at this point, and his claims and assertions have the stink of an attempted fix to them.
18 Likes
I’m not an 11th dimensional chess kind of guy, I drop out at the 5th dimension. So I’m having a hard time figuring this one out. Putting aside the possibility that Mueller is a partisan hack sent to scuttle the investigation.
What is Mueller’s strategy? If he charges, then what happens? Is the evidence conclusive enough to get a guilty verdict? If not Trump skates.
Meanwhile a half a dozen other investigations are opening up, utilizing the information Mueller uncovered. We are looking for the knockout punch, which is foolish, this plays into Trump’s hands. He’s a counterpuncher, he is not organized enough to handle a half dozen jabs at once.
I don’t like it, but a death by a thousand cuts is preferable to Trump skating. Of course those investigation would have happened anyway, but a trial would have made it difficult for those investigations regardless.
16 Likes
I agree. I’m baffled, too. I think the bosses made it clear to him that they would make that determination.
3 Likes
No, under the regulations, mueller was not left the decision. He can make a recommendation or not, but since he is not a ‘special counsel’ with the independence of the old special counsel law (like Starr was) the decision was Barr’s to make legally.
My guess is the actual report makes clear the direction mueller felt the evidence points, and I seriously doubt that he says it like Barr is suggesting.
What is interesting is - if as Barr claims - the report is good for trump, then trump and him should want it to be released, right? It they don’t fully release it and the underlying materials, it tells us all we need to know.
23 Likes
Here’s my take on Mueller at this point:
He’s Schrodinger’s Councilor. Until you open the actual report, you don’t know if Mueller is in the bag for donnie or not in the bag.
Yes, there is a scent in the air that would imply there’s a dead cat nearby…but I would like to think that Mueller did the best he could given the circumstances. It’s the romantic in me.
14 Likes
Reminder, Hive friends:
Do not engage with trolls and bots. Consider the possibility of bad actors on this site, and respond accordingly and strategically.
15 Likes
If by that you mean he’s a Republican hack, you’re right.
Not many still get it, Mueller’s whole report being released won’t change things.
I know y’all want to hang onto that hope…but it’s better you accept that Mueller is not the guy you thought he was.
Added
I had many more links where former Senator Bob Graham was quoted saying Mueller was not trustworthy. I deleted them a while back because no really wants to hear the truth anyway. You prefer to hang on to your hopes.
Bob Graham’s bio:
Sen. Bob Graham, Democratic U.S. senator from Florida from 1987 to 2005. Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from 2001 to 2003. Co-chair of the joint congressional investigation into the 9/11 attacks. Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987.
I posted yesterday about this once again. Matt and plucky essentially said, oh well, no one is going to be liked by everyone.
2 Likes
What else is he covering up?
I think perhaps we built him up as the savior. Maybe we expected too much. I do not know, but I do know they are all Republicans.
2 Likes
yeah, I’m thinking we were sold a bill of goods that didn’t deliver on the hype.
I for one welcome my new fascist overlords. /s
3 Likes
Fair point. Maybe I read too much into the square jaw.
4 Likes
I expected the truth. I was totally pwned.
8 Likes
Barr would have to have considered that the report could actually be made public, by Congress, the courts, or the old fashioned way, via a leak. So there’s that.
I still say the Dems should state in a unified voice that these issues are important, and they will pursue them, but that they will keep their eye on the main ball: preventing Trump and the Repubs from taking away people’s Social Security and their healthcare. The Repubs tried mightily on the latter, and have ratcheted up the deficit to make Social Security less viable. The Dems took the House by focusing on these issues. The consultant class and Bernie, et al. won’t like it, and will try to go over the top. Let’s focus on what works, damnit.
11 Likes
Renato Mariotti has a good analysis in Politico …
William Barr Has Some Explaining to Do
The attorney general’s reasoning on obstruction of justice is shaky. That makes it imperative that we see all the evidence Mueller gathered.
By RENATO MARIOTTI March 24, 2019
22 Likes
He should have charged and Barr should have left it up to Congress. There is no way Barr should have exonerated Trump on the charge of Obstruction. Barr was not selected as the Special counsel Muller was
1 Like
Part of Barr’s job was to make the political argument for setting all of this aside, and that is what he did. By submitting the summary that he did, he has provided the administration and it’s enablers in Congress to argue that everything should go away. That’s all that the base needs to hear, and that is all that matters to them.
8 Likes
Worth reading
11 Likes