Posted on 07/16/2020 8:48:35 AM PDT by Red Badger
How Attorney General William Barr may yet unleash the power of the Justice Department has House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff unnerved.
The California Democrat invoked U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is conducting a criminal inquiry of the federal Russia investigation, as he discussed his dread that "more serious abuse" of federal law enforcement will happen in the coming days.
"One of the concerns I have with Bill Barr is that the worst is yet to come. I mean, he's got a terrible, destructive track record as it is, and it may get worse in the coming days," Schiff said in a recent episode of the Talking Feds podcast. "But what we have seen largely is Barr's intervention to protect the president."
As examples, Schiff mentioned Barr's rollout of special counsel Robert Mueller's report and "intervention" in cases spun off from the Russia investigation to "help Trump cronies" such as Roger Stone and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
"What we have not yet had full visibility on is not Barr's use of the shield to protect corruption writ large of his boss, Donald Trump, but the sword," Schiff continued. "How he may be using the power of the Justice Department through Durham or others to go after the president's enemies. And in many respects, that is a far greater, more serious abuse of the power of the Justice Department than his use of the shield."
It's a well-worn line of criticism for Schiff, who has complained since last year that the Justice Department has kept the Democratic-led House in the dark about its inquiries into whether there was inappropriate "spying" on Trump's 2016 campaign and other misconduct.
But more recently, that anxiety has deepened as Trump accused former President Barack Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, of committing crimes as part of the "Obamagate" scandal.
"And so I continue to be concerned with the president, who is tweeting about how Obama and Biden should go to prison, that Bill Barr may be preparing the use of the sword in a politicized and dangerous and desperate way," Schiff said.
Barr has repeatedly said he does not expect Obama or Biden, who is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to be targets of Durham's investigation. He also has dismissed the inquiry as being a partisan hit job, even as some critics fear an "October surprise."
"This cannot be, and it will not be, a tit-for-tat exercise. We are not going to lower our standards to achieve a particular result," the attorney general said in May. Barr told Fox News last month that he anticipates "developments" in Durham's criminal investigation by the end of the summer.
Whereas Schiff is spooked by being kept in the dark about Durham's work, his Republican counterpart on the House Intelligence Committee views that as a "good sign."
"The one good thing so far that we've learned about this Durham investigation is that Durham isn’t talking. People on his team aren’t talking," California Rep. Devin Nunes said during a Fox News interview last month. "I think that’s a good sign that this is a real, legitimate investigation that’s occurring."
Schiff lied for a full half-hour when he read that supposed transcript of Trump’s Ukraine phone call. HE MADE UP THE WHOLE DAMN THING.
Based on what we’ve seen out of Barr and Durham thus far, I doubt Shiff is dreading anything. It would be nice to be wrong, though.
Don’t sweat it, Adam la Schiff.
It’s just another ‘investigation’.
Another brick in the wall of Deep State concealment.
Squirm you psychopathic maggot.....
The only thing Barr will unleash is a cheeseburger fart. Most feckless AG since Sessions. Honestly I wish Trump could pick effective people, but he is 6 for 100 in that catagory.
Why does he dread prosecution? Nothing is going to happen to him.
Meh... he’s not squirming at all.
Or, Barr and Durham will chicken out
as telegraphed recently.
Nothing done that could diminish Americans’ faith in Biden or his successor before the November election.
But “overreach” by them up to now can set off a new impeachment of Trump by Schiff which will be swiftly and efficiently be pushed through before November 5th.
Shiff dreads.., That’s a good thing
Durham is going to do something just as soon as he doesn’t need to do anything. There will be serious consequences for attempting a coup d-etat. Just not in the United States.
Republicans know fear that prosecuting any nominally political figure will open a massive amount of the same from Democrats.
You know, kind of like Manafort, Stone, and Flynn. And many others that have gone down the memory hole.
Well said.
Right. If Bill and Hillary had spent every day since the early 1990s worrying that their felonies would be punished they wouldn't be the icons of America living in happiness with huge approval by fans all over the country.
Except among us, the 38% Deplorables, of course. Uneducated Trump fans. But we don't count.
Democrats know that Republicans are cowards and will whither at the first sign of trouble...............
I suspect he's got much reason to "dread".
Yeah, Barr will put out a hard hitting report that mandates more training for staffers.
All they need to wait it out... until the election.
Stopping Trump really IS a matter of life and death for many, many swamp creatures.
They will stop at nothing, NOTHING to prevent a re-election.
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