Bill Barr Seems To Be Ready For A Post-election Constitutional Crisis

That was then.

What’s occurred. Now this can be very laborious to not shake the impression that his imaginative and prescient of justice persistently seems in full line with what advantages President Donald Trump staying in workplace.

A extremely dangerous analogy. For starters, Barr this week in contrast coronavirus stay-at-home orders, which Trump has opposed, to slavery. “You already know, placing a nationwide lockdown, keep at dwelling orders, is like home arrest. Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, that is the best intrusion on civil liberties in American historical past,” Barr stated at a Structure Day celebration placed on by Hillsdale School.

South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn stated that Barr’s remark was “essentially the most ridiculous, tone-deaf, God-awful factor I’ve ever heard.” CNN’s Brandon Tensley went deep on the painful absurdity of drawing any type of analogy between compelled bondage and authorities suggestions designed to maintain Individuals secure from a lethal virus, particularly throughout this time of a basic re-examination of the nation’s racist historical past.

Trump’s man. Nevertheless it’s simply the newest instance of the impression Barr has on condition that he both agrees with most, if not all, of the issues that come out of the President’s mouth or is a minimum of greater than prepared to humor and allow it.

Brooking no dissent. On the identical occasion, Barr stated US attorneys lack the political judgment or clout to convey some fees. He referred to them as headhunters looking for glory and as junior degree staff. “Identify one profitable group or establishment the place the bottom degree staff’ selections are deemed sacrosanct, there aren’t. There are no letting essentially the most junior members set the agenda,” Barr stated throughout his speech.

“It may be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, however it’s no option to run a federal company,” the lawyer basic added. (Montessori youngsters are clearly essentially the most unruly of the pre-school lot in his thoughts).

Barr’s targets. One downside right here is that Barr’s top-down strategy all the time appears to learn Trump’s buddies and damage his enemies.

He is considered looked into charges against Portland city officials for the protests that befell of their metropolis round a federal courthouse.

His DOJ made an about-face on admitted law-breaking by Michael Flynn, Trump’s first nationwide safety adviser.

He exerted influence earlier than the sentencing of convicted felon and Trump buddy Roger Stone. Prosecutors give up in protest.

Conversely, the Justice Division gotten concerned within the stream of tell-all books condemning Trump in current months.

They tried to revoke launch granted to former Trump lawyer and confidant Michael Cohen due to Covid. Cohen filed a lawsuit against Barr.

They’ve opened a legal inquiry into former national security adviser John Bolton.

Barr vs. protesters, Trump vs. protesters. Whereas Trump was constructing his reelection marketing campaign round opposing peaceable protesters in US cities, Barr was serving to engineer the military-style crackdown on protesters in Lafayette Park.

Extra not too long ago he is instructed charging violent protesters with sedition. That is a conspiracy to overthrow the federal government. It is listed alongside treason in US code.

He is pushed the Trump and the Proper’s conspiracy concept that Antifa is a threatening cabal. The US nationwide safety equipment is more concerned about right wing extremist groups.

Barr adopts the “deep state” line. Throughout that interview with journalists in Chicago, Barr additionally pushed Trump’s thought of a “deep state” of presidency staff out to undermine him and blamed this supposed deep state for tying Trump to Russia regardless of all of the proof.

Trump thinks Barr is his man. Why else would he have requested the chief of Ukraine to satisfy with Barr as a part of the hassle to discredit the Russia investigation? He is distinctly refused to say he won’t release the results of that investigation in the lead-up to November.

Barr is aware of he isn’t alleged to be instantly concerned in politics. He is alleged to be upholding justice for all Individuals. He stated as a lot throughout an interview with Chicago journalists. Then he pushed the President’s alarmist line that if Biden wins the White Home, the US could be “irrevocably dedicated to the socialist path.”

What this implies for November and past. Whereas Barr has described as “bulsh**” the concept that Trump would attempt to seize energy if he misplaced the election, Barr has additionally subtly fueled Trump’s argument that mail-in voting is rigged and questioned the circulation of Democratic-leaning mail-in votes anticipated to pour in via the mail system.

“Somebody will say the President simply gained Nevada. ‘Oh, wait a minute! We simply found 100,000 ballots! Each vote will likely be counted!’ Yeah, however we do not know the place these freaking votes got here from,” Barr stated.

Election legislation professor Richard Hasen writes for CNN that this undermining of election integrity is the most dangerous thing Barr could do.

And in regards to the “bullsh**” — Barr stated it is fear-mongering by Democrats that Trump may reject the election outcomes. However he additionally, throughout testimony earlier than the Home Judiciary Committee this previous summer time, didn’t unequivocally say he’d depart workplace on January. What he stated was: “Well, if the results are clear, I would leave office.”

He and Trump positive appear able to say the outcomes aren’t going to be clear. Trump stated Thursday on Twitter the outcomes could by no means be identified.

The place will that depart us? When then-Legal professional Common Loretta Lynch met in a airplane on a tarmac with Invoice Clinton in 2016, it fed a persistent conspiracy concept inflaming the Proper that the 2 have been in cahoots to bury details about Hillary Clinton. After an inspector basic report, it seems it wasn’t much more than a long and ethically inappropriate conversation that Lynch regretted having as a result of it gave a misunderstanding and allowed folks to query her independence from her boss, Barack Obama.

Barr has completed completely nothing to specific his independence from his boss, despite the fact that that is what his job is meant to demand. And that is what he promised when he received it.

And that issues not simply from a theoretical standpoint. It issues as a result of Barr will nonetheless be lawyer basic after Election Day and a minimum of till January 20, when the following president is because of be inaugurated. Will probably be as much as him to implement the rule of legislation throughout that interval, when the lengthy historical past of peaceable transfers of energy within the US could also be examined like by no means earlier than.

The Abe Lincoln beard is distracting

I get considerably distracted each time I see a photograph of CDC Director Robert Redfield as a result of his Abe Lincoln-style beard makes him look a lot like C. Everett Koop, the Reagan-era Surgeon Common now lionized for elevating consciousness in regards to the risks of smoking, withstanding Reagan administration efforts to crack down on abortion regardless of his private opposition to the follow and writing a key authorities report about AIDS.

Koop had celeb standing in the USA within the ’80s and that gave him the facility to tangle with tobacco state senators and face up to White Home strain. His New York Times obituary describes him as insisting that condoms be talked about in that AIDS report and withstanding smear campaigns from social conservatives.

Redfield, who lacks Koops stature and has confronted his share of criticism, can be identified for his work on AIDS. Again during that condoms debate, he was on the other side, pushing abstinence. His views have modified.

However now he is within the place of withstanding strain from the White Home, as he did this week when he stated, contra President Trump, that masks are the highest precedence to cease the unfold of Covid 19. On Instagram today, I posted Getty photographs of Redfield testifying Wednesday and Koop testifying again in 1998.

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