I remain as skeptical as anyone here, but one of the issues is that an agency head has a lot less control over his agency than you would imagine, especially after a couple of decades of the deep state burrowing in.
If Barr uses it, this is an opportunity to blow a lot of deepster vermin out of their safe little federal hidey holes.
an agency head has a lot less control over his agency than you would imagine
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While that is generally true, in this particular case Barr was undoubtedly aware of the high profile nature of this case and the potential for political fallout and/or negative publicity for his own agency should something go awry, as it did. All the more reason, especially in view of the agency’s recent travails, to proactively protect your agency’s image. If an administrator is not going to do that then what is he/she there for?
Not making excuses for him but I think Barr is primarily a lawyer, not a manager. Sometimes circumstances call for executives to get involved in operational matters, especially when the agency’s reputation is at stake. I think Barr was probably too focused on purely legal issues to do his real job of running an agency.