AG William Barr, trying to quash Mueller testimony, offers him a way out

Kerry Eleveld

Daily Kos Staff

Monday July 08, 2019 · 1:03 PM PDT

RSS

PUBLISHED TO

• Kerry Eleveld
• Daily Kos
• Rim Country Gazette Blog

How desperate are Donald Trump and his attorney general to keep the American people from hearing the uncomfortable truths special counsel Robert Mueller will surely relay during his testimony next week before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees? This is how desperate: On a visit to a federal prison in South Carolina, Attorney General William Barr took time out to send a public message to his old friend, “Bob.”

Manu Raju‏Verified account @mkraju

Bill Barr criticizes Dems for issuing subpoena to Mueller. “To me the only reason for doing that is to create some kind of public spectacle and if Bob decides that he doesn’t want to be subject to that then the Department of Justice would certainly back him.”

12:04 PM - 8 Jul 2019

• 250 Retweets
• 502 Likes
• 

Barr is as leery of a “public spectacle” where Mueller pretty much destroys Barr’s own fanciful spin about the Russia report as his boss is. Mueller’s testimony, even if delivered in the understated fashion of a dutiful Boy Scout, is going to unmask Barr to millions as a slippery frontman for Trump—a new Michael Cohen-type “fixer” who just happens to be running the Justice Department. Mueller’s testimony is also certain to enrage Trump.

How could the Justice Department find a decent legal rationale to “back” Mueller’s potential refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena? Who cares? Barr doesn’t. He’ll make some unfounded, legally unprecedented claim, find some chump attorneys who share his personal lack of integrity to help him, and worry about defending that bogus rationale in some court down the road. Because that’s the way hatchet man Bill rolls. Of utmost importance is silencing Mueller, if at all possible. And killing the truth, of course—always killing the truth.