General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBarr has ties to Russia
"A few of Barrs previous employers are connected to key subjects in the probe. And some argue that, even if Barr didnt break any rules, his financial ties to companies linked to aspects of the Russia investigation raise questions about whether he shouldlike his predecessor, Jeff Sessionsrecuse himself.
The legal standard is really clear about these issues. Its not about actual conflict, its about the appearance of a conflict, about the appearance of bias, Jed Shugerman, a professor at Fordham Universitys School of Law and an expert on judicial and government ethics, tells Newsweek . The problem is that we have so many flagrant conflicts that are so obvious, we get distracted from what the legal standard is.
This much is known: On Barrs public financial disclosure report, he admits to working for a law firm that represented Russias Alfa Bank and for a company whose co-founders allegedly have long-standing business ties to Russia. Whats more, he received dividends from Vector Group, a holding company with deep financial ties to Russia.
These facts didnt get much attention during Barrs confirmation hearing, as Congress was hyperfocused on an unsolicited memo Barr wrote prior to his nomination, which criticized the special counsels investigationand whether he would release an unredacted Mueller report to Congress. Much of the information is public, but it has so far been unreported in relation to Barr..."
Link To Newsweek article:
https://www.newsweek.com/so-many-conflicts-so-little-time-1396435
Hekate
(100,133 posts)sheshe2
(97,626 posts)malaise
(296,102 posts)NOT
I didn't think so.
Mr. Evil
(3,457 posts)I would've been more shocked if he didn't have ties to Russia. Barr is a typical party above country RWNJ.
drray23
(8,757 posts)each and every one of those guys have ties with russia one way or another. maybe i do and dont realize it..
Shell_Seas
(3,566 posts)rusty fender
(3,428 posts)Have you bought Russian dressing, lately
pangaia
(24,324 posts)I have a bunch of musician friends in St Petersburg, Moscow, Novosibirsk,......
And one living in Den Haag who had to leave the Soviet Union. Can't go back... And another living in Manchester, UK.....
uponit7771
(93,532 posts)Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)Or they can all resign, and let President Pelosi take over.
Traitors.
Cetacea
(7,400 posts)But dems need to at least bring this up.
lindysalsagal
(22,915 posts)G.O.P.
Mc Mike
(9,260 posts)Shell_Seas
(3,566 posts)Stinky The Clown
(68,952 posts)coti
(4,625 posts)PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)before the election?
drray23
(8,757 posts)empedocles
(15,751 posts)up to WH. Justice Kennedy ties to Deutsch/trump. The plots thicken.
KPN
(17,377 posts)the piece. Maybe Barr got a suggestion that he write that memo to tRump that got him the job?
Botany
(77,323 posts)Wikileaks, the Mercers, and Facebook.
Golden Raisin
(4,755 posts)Back in 2016 Alfa Bank and Trump Organization servers tried to communicate or had "repeated activity" with each other.
triron
(22,240 posts)dameatball
(7,669 posts)Glimmer of Hope
(5,823 posts)Grasswire2
(13,849 posts)Damn.
BigmanPigman
(55,137 posts)UpInArms
(54,983 posts)Re-russlican party
SHRED
(28,136 posts)They need to start fighting like our lives depend on it.
Because they do.
kentuck
(115,406 posts)They are all connected to Russia, is some manner or other.
sandensea
(23,343 posts)
"As you've all heard I'm out of the loop - and here's the guy who keeps me out of it."
Amaryllis
(11,293 posts)uponit7771
(93,532 posts)crazytown
(7,277 posts)Barr employed by Law. Employed. Not linked to individual clients. Not a conflict of interest at the time, let alone now.
Barr is corrupt. He has disgraced the office of Attorney General for the most base political motives. The Elephant is the room is Trump himself who by his own words expects the AG to do as hes told. As Cohen said- Trump expects you to protect him, to lie and to stand over others. Barr knew , he applied for the job as has acted accordingly.
Initech
(108,783 posts)
Takket
(23,715 posts)and receiving dividends is okay as long as he divested himself from that holding company prior to becoming AG. (Has he?)
dlk
(13,247 posts)Wounded Bear
(64,324 posts)That would not be surprising.
Lonestarblue
(13,480 posts)I assume all of the Republican leadership in Congress has illicit ties to Putin. Perhaps that conversation when Kevin McCarthy said he believed that Putin was paying two people, Trump and Rohrabacher, has deeper meaning in that Ryan and others all had liaisons with Russia but they werent being paid directly, maybe just through campaign contributions to PACs. And why did Paul Ryan leave at the height of his power and without achieving two of his goals by killing social security and Medicare?
Evolve Dammit
(21,777 posts)RayStar
(417 posts)Is anyone #45 picks for a position in his administration NOT connected to Russian banking or finances?
Vinca
(53,994 posts)toddwv
(2,831 posts)Deutsche Bank reportedly tried to jettison a $600 million loan it made in 2016 to VTB Group, a Russian state-owned bank, amid questions over Russia's meddling in the 2016 election that made Donald Trump president, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Deutsche sold $300 million of the loan to Alfa Bank in December 2016, and wasn't able to sell the rest of loan, according to The Journal. VTB Group paid the rest of loan back in full in August 2017.
GoCubsGo
(34,914 posts)Just like the rest of them.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Let's get their attention.
Linda Ed
(518 posts)Barrs Playbook: He Misled Congress When Omitting Parts of Justice Dept Memo in 1989
It is better to think of Barrs summary as a redacted version of the full OLC opinion. Thats because the summary took the form of 13 pages of written testimony. The document was replete with quotations from court cases, legal citations, and the language of the OLC opinion itself. Despite its highly detailed analysis, this 13-page version omitted some of the most consequential and incendiary conclusions from the actual opinion. And there was evidently no justifiable reason for having withheld those parts from Congress or the public.
https://www.justsecurity.org/63635/barrs-playbook-he-misled-congress-when-omitting-parts-of-justice-dept-memo-in-1989/
And also this https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Linda Ed
(518 posts)If Barr had a concern about the investigation and wanted the truth, he'd cite facts and rely on the IG. If he wanted to provide his boss political cover or intimidate investigators so they won't investigate his boss again, he'd cite a conspiracy theory and launch his own inquiry.