Barr: Trump's tweets make it 'impossible for me to do my job'

The Hill ^ | 02 13 2020 | Morgan Chalfant

[yesthatjallen]

Attorney General William Barr told ABC News in an interview aired Thursday that President Trump had never asked him to do anything in a criminal case but advised the president to stop tweeting about the Justice Department, saying it makes it “impossible for me to do my job.”

The remarks are a significant and rare public break by the attorney general from the president, following days of controversy surrounding the Justice Department’s decision to lessen a sentence for Trump ally Roger Stone after the president tweeted about his displeasure with the gravity of the original sentence recommendation.

“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Barr told ABC in the interview.

SNIP

[GLDNGUN]

Actually, Mr. Barr, you have it exactly backwards. The President is making it impossible for you to NOT do your job! He is not going to sit by quietly while we all watch the Deep State escape justice! DO YOUR JOB! NOW!

[Alberta's Child]

Interestingly, the witness who Stone is accused of "tampering with" doesn’t feel that he is guilty.

Unfortunately for Stone, that's not for the witness to decide. And Stone is an absolute 'effing moron for doing anything with that witness that might remotely be construed as "witness tampering."

Personally, I think Stone should get a medal for lying to Congress. But he should probably rot in prison for even agreeing to testify to Congress in the first place. They never sent him a subpoena. It was all just a staged PR stunt to him.

It seems to me that the biggest problem facing these Trump supporters who have been run through the wringer in the criminal justice system is that they have an average IQ of about 90.

[mass55th]

His job isn't to scold the President when the President asks questions on social media. These are his job duties as outlined by the U.S. Department of Justice:

The principal duties of the Attorney General are to:

Represent the United States in legal matters.

Supervise and direct the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, and bureaus that comprise the Department.

Furnish advice and opinions, formal and informal, on legal matters to the President and the Cabinet and to the heads of the executive departments and agencies of the government, as provided by law.

Make recommendations to the President concerning appointments to federal judicial positions and to positions within the Department, including U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Marshals.

Represent or supervise the representation of the United States Government in the Supreme Court of the United States and all other courts, foreign and domestic, in which the United States is a party or has an interest as may be deemed appropriate.

Perform or supervise the performance of other duties required by statute or Executive Order.

[Fury]

It seems to me that the biggest problem facing these Trump supporters who have been run through the wringer in the criminal justice system is that they have an average IQ of about 90.

I never knew Stone had not been subpoenaed to appear before Congress! Do you have a reference to that? If so, why in the &*#% would he ever appear before them?

I know, Stone thinks he's the smartest man in the room.

[Lurker]

“Trust Sessions” again?

You people are fools.

L

[Alberta's Child]

If the President has questions to ask, he can ask them directly instead of posting them on social media. By posting them on social media he is asking rhetorical questions that are not intended to elicit any answers and are intended to: (1) embarrass someone, and/or (2) undermine them ... which is Barr's point.

When it comes to the role of the U.S. Attorney General in "representing the United States in legal matters," there's a bigger question here that is surely worth raising, but the time for it has probably long passed:

What function does the DOJ even serve in prosecuting criminal cases in the first place?

The U.S. Department of Justice didn't even exist until 1870. Before that, Federal crimes were pretty much limited to treason and tax evasion. And the primary function of the U.S. Attorney General was in civil matters like Federal vs. State legal disputes and real estate transactions for Federal lands.

[Alberta's Child]

Here's a link to a Politico article about Stone's testimony:

Roger Stone Brings Theatrics to Capitol Hill

The highlighted item below suggests to me that his appearance was entirely voluntary.

But after Schiff and his House Intelligence Committee colleagues grilled Stone for three hours in a closed-door interview at the Capitol, the lawmaker tersely accused Stone of refusing to answer at least one significant question — and suggested the longtime Trump associate could be compelled to return under the threat of a subpoena.

[mass55th]

So basically, you want to dictate how the President should perform his job, and how he should conduct himself on social media. That’s the same thing the Democrats have been trying for the past 3+ years. Have fun.

[Fledermaus]

Frankly, I don’t give a crap. The entire system is corrupt. Dems get away with it all the time. And the Stone case, and Papapapoa, and Flynn, and others are a fraud.

So I’m supposed to bitch at Trump for a tweet? Isn’t like he’s in Barr’s office barking orders. To put the AG and DOJ above all other departments is silly.

The left acts like any firing of them is “obstruction”. I don’t think so.

[Alberta's Child]

I have no interest in telling anyone how to do his job. AG Barr is doing that himself.

Posting public comments about active DOJ cases completely undermines those in the DOJ who actually want to do the right thing. It will eventually make it harder for the DOJ to prosecute even those who deserve to be prosecuted.

[Alberta's Child]

To put the AG and DOJ above all other departments is silly.

They're not above all other departments, but they're DIFFERENT from other departments for the reasons I've explained previously on this thread.

Frankly, I don’t give a crap. The entire system is corrupt.

That's fine. Then let President Trump be honest about it and just disband the DOJ entirely. I'd have no problem with that.

[mass55th]

"Posting public comments about active DOJ cases completely undermines those in the DOJ who actually want to do the right thing."

So the only ones who will be commenting on them will be the liberal media and liberals on Twitter, etc. Doesn't that undermine the DOJ too?

[Alberta's Child]

There's a big difference between a "lay person" publicly commenting on DOJ cases and a political figure with legal authority over the DOJ publicly commenting on them. I'm kind of surprised you don't see the difference.

I think Barr should be commended for his restraint here. If he was really looking to send a message to President Trump, he could have just said: "I wish the President would just get off everyone's ass about this case. He can pardon Roger Stone tomorrow, and within 30 minutes I would sign all the paperwork to shut his case down. But for some reason Mr. Trump just wants to complain about other people instead of doing sh!t himself to fix the problems he seems to be having."

[Gene Eric]

Agreed. I wonder how many of these events were orchestrated to illicit the appearance of discontent. Perhaps only a few if any, but I happen to be a fan of Trump’s obnoxious nature — I’ve had enough of the well-mannered tyranny.

[Swirl]

Lou Dobbs just barr-b-qued Barr. As intense as I have seen him in a while.

Basically, Barr cant control his organization, and has not produced. Hillary/Obama people in key positions running the DOJ.

[mass55th]

Donald Trump is not a politician. He's a man who has no experience in politics. He's had to deal with corrupt politicians, corrupt media, and corrupt government workers trying to take him down for well over three years. The President may have "legal authority," but doesn't claim that in any of his Tweets. His comments are on current news stories, not how Barr should perform his job. Barr seems to be worried more about how he's perceived by everyone else, than he is about what the President says on Twitter. If anyone sounds like a baby, it's Barr who is crying that his job is hard enough without the President commenting on the news of the day.

I'm sure that the President's legal advisors are giving him far better advice than anyone here on FR could offer. It's possible they're telling him it would be better to wait until Stone's trial is over, or after his reelection before he contemplates any pardon...especially in light of what this country has gone through with the Mueller investigation, and impeachment. Democrats are still in power in the House, and are looking for anything to investigate. Now they're looking into how much the Secret Service pays for staying at Trump resorts. They failed in their emoluments case, and are now looking elsewhere.

None of us know whether Barr went to President Trump first before he went whining to the liberal media. If he didn't, then why respect a person who does that?

[Alberta's Child]

None of us know whether Barr went to President Trump first before he went whining to the liberal media.

I can pretty much guarantee you that he did.

In fact, I'm getting a sense that ABC is the Trump administration's preferred TV news outlet for staging theatrics for public consumption.

[Alberta's Child]

I think you've missed the point of Barr's staged "rant" here.

His comments are on current news stories, not how Barr should perform his job. Barr seems to be worried more about how he's perceived by everyone else, than he is about what the President says on Twitter. If anyone sounds like a baby, it's Barr who is crying that his job is hard enough without the President commenting on the news of the day.

Barr wasn't personally defensive in these remarks. He simply pointed out that one particular type of public communication -- specifically, about active DOJ cases -- undermines the DOJ.

When someone in a prosecutorial post says this, what he's saying is that this type of public commentary makes it harder to prosecute cases.

I think Barr just dropped a big hint about what's going on in the DOJ ... and he didn't have the Roger Stone case in mind when he said this.

[Varsity Flight]

Bombshell, Shocking, Stunning, Dramatic, Possible, Interfered, Influenced, ..today’s collusion speak: “Indirect Interference”

[NobleFree]

Yours are the most thoughtful posts on this thread. (Although with the volume of chest-thumping and feces-flinging going on here, I'm afraid that may amount to damning with faint praise.)