Posted on 02/14/2020 2:41:09 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats frustrated over the Senate’s acquittal of President Donald Trump are pushing their oversight efforts toward the Justice Department and what they call Attorney General William Barr’s efforts to politicize federal law enforcement.
Democrats have demanded more information about Barr’s intervention in the case of Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of President Donald Trump who was convicted in November. Barr this week overruled prosecutors who had recommended that Stone be sentenced to 7 to 9 years in prison.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Barr on Thursday, calling him one of Trump’s “henchmen.”
“The attorney general has stooped to such levels,” Pelosi said. “What a sad disappointment. The American people deserve better.”
The sharpened look at Barr’s activities comes at a time when many Democrats appear wary of prolonging the Ukraine inquiry that led to Trump’s impeachment.
First up will be examining whether Barr inappropriately intervened in the Stone case. Stone was convicted of lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.
The turmoil within the Justice Department has given Democrats a new way forward for their investigations after the sting of the Senate’s impeachment acquittal. While there is little interest in pursuing another impeachment case, Democrats want to leverage the power of their majority to conduct oversight as they try to defeat Trump at the polls in November.
“The resignation and defection of these prosecutors is a huge alarm bell going off in our system,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, one of the most vocal Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee who pushed for impeachment. “So, that is the immediate emergency.”
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Must see TV?
1. The Atty. Gen. has an absolute right, indeed the responsibility to oversee and intervene in the day-to-day operation of his trial lawyers.
2. The trial lawyers had deceived the Atty. Gen. by telling him that they would seek a sentence less than nine years.
3. The trial lawyers in recommending a nine year sentence have breached standard norms considering the degree of the crime, the lack of criminal record of the defendant, the lack of harm to society, the relative disparity and severity of sentence running to other political figures on the Democrat side.
4. The President of the United States has the absolute right, indeed the responsibility, to direct the office of the Atty. Gen. in the conduct of pursuing the nation's justice.
5. The only evidence before us is that the Atty. Gen. acted to modify the sentence recommendation before the president tweeted.
6. The only evidence before us is that the president has never intervened with the Atty. Gen. respecting a criminal case.
Nevertheless the Atty. Gen. is correct, the president made an unforced error with this tweet. Just as the president made an unforced error with the phone call leading to his impeachment. In each instance he was innocent and constitutionally authorized but ill advised. The Atty. Gen.'s job has been made more difficult, the Democrats were given the appearance of improper action, the administration was placed on the defensive.
I acknowledge that no matter what the president does he and his administration will be attacked, notwithstanding there is no need to tee up the ball for them.
I think it’s funny. Trump undergoes Impeachment ordeal for months when Barr could have slammed the brakes on that and didn’t. Now the Rats want to Impeach Barr. Trump should publicly announce that he can’t “interfere with Barr’s Impeachment”. Let HIM spin for a few months.
It's called "getting out of town while you're still able", Jamie, not defection.
These are really vindictive people. Holder was on of the most unethical and biased AGs we’ve ever had, and JFK had his brother as AG.
How could Barr have stopped the house investigation?
+100!! They sure are and the pendulum of justice has swung back in their direction. These people are domestic enemies who must be destroyed!!
Indictments. For three years we have watched Comey and others scoff at the crimes they have committed. A perfect conspiracy would have worked but they didn’t commit a perfect conspiracy and now we all know all about it and nothing is being done. That don’t work.
7. Trump avoids the need to “pardon” and thereby avoids the Rat’s trap of “abuse of power” for pardoning Stone.
8) now Pelosi wants to impeach Barr.
9) Pelosi impeaches Barr and Trump does nothing “to avoid the perceived conflict of interest”.
10). Bar spins in the wind for a few months. (How does it feel?)
Without the President’s tweet, no-one is looking at what Stone was convicted of. Now many are looking at the ridiculous charges and inexplicable conviction. The most punishment Stone should have gotten was for Twitter to have given him a time-out.
Also, the Bidens are the elephant-in-the-room regarding U.S. - Ukraine relations and monetary aid. At least now I have an explanation, for why Biden was running for President, to give to my wife for her questions about why is this old-fool running for President instead enjoying his retirement. He’s running to obstruct justice.
At the current pace of things, I might suggest two more impeachment attempts for 2020. One on Barr, which would take the House three months to conduct the investigation, and prep the case for the Senate. Then a final House attempt by August on the President, with the Senate getting this in October (right before the election).
The plus side of this? Getting Nadler, Shiffty and Pelosi on TV for part of the Trump campaign in the fall. You’d virtually guaranteed a land-slide vote (maybe up around 45 states, and a 60-percent vote tally). I could even see a plus-up of four more Senate seats by January of next year.
Barr had no authority over the House “investigation.”
Headlines of “Comey arrested” and McCabe arrested” and then Nellie Ohr arrested”. You are telling me the Brown SHirt Media would ignore those stories in favor of Pelosi’s Impeachment?
Unforced errors or laser pointers?
You think there was going to arrive some magical day in which the Rats reaction to arresting these people would be “That’s OK.” Or “They deserved it.”
That day will never come and I don’t know why you or Barr would think it ever would.
Another boomerang, they never learn.
Actually, if you examine what stone was convicted of, he was proven guilty by documents. I can concede that he was proven guilty of foolishness as much as anything, but he was proven guilty by documents. Against that, we have the overreaching of the Moeller prosecutors and the utter unfairness of a Democrat aligned justice system which persecutes Republicans and exonerates Democrats. Finally, we should also consider the lies of the jury foreman which might (repeat "might") result in a mistrial.
We have an option of taking two perspectives on this matter: 1) it is a question of law; 2) it is a public relations matter. If it is a legal matter, it should be addressed in legal language, in a legal forum by a surrogate of the president but not he himself. If it is a public relations matter, we have to ask ourselves is Roger Stone the kind of individual we want to associate ourselves with by defending him? Is he not in the mold of Manafort and Cohen?
The political advantage is to demonstrate the overreaching of the prosecutors and the unfairness of double standard. These are process arguments so the assertion, "Now many are looking at the ridiculous charges and inexplicable conviction" is quite true quite true but true, alas, mostly for us junkies and conservatives. The overall effect when the mainstream media presents its side but not ours is to brand the president as one improperly interfering in the system of justice with an untrustworthy Atty. Gen. who now is compromised for any good he might do in the future.
This gain was not worth the cost; whatever gain there was to be had could well have been done through surrogates or through a prepared speech, or with better timing. Tweeting from the hip has cost the president untold approval points. He could still obtain a positive rating and the loyalty of his base with more care and his tweets.
Not even the Democrats would be foolish enough to commence impeachment on this issue, so we should dispose of that red Herring offered in support of tweets.
Fear not....AG, Bill Barr....The Democrat Party is slowly destroying itself from within. Case Closed!!!
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