...Mueller "will be concluding his service within the coming days."

[babylonsister]

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/442376-trump-move-raises-pressure-on-barr?fbclid=IwAR0TTYbysA_bgGVYDNOg_s5htB_n6mtSsPAEcNDsvMOyYOyNdaJZrhILKMU&fbclid=IwAR1PXl32FzvZF4qwaufux2xfiHdmNCwTkiKrTWTaHAAVDvIljbSL8HfTMRY

Trump move raises pressure on Barr
By Morgan Chalfant and Olivia Beavers - 05/06/19 06:37 PM EDT

snip//

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are angling to bring Mueller in to testify on May 15 and are said to be negotiating directly with the special counsel.

Mueller is still employed at the Justice Department, meaning Barr would need to sign off on his testimony and could in theory block him from appearing. Mueller is also expected to leave the Justice Department soon, which could leave the administration with little control over his actions as a private citizen.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsel’s office, told The Hill on Monday that Mueller “will be concluding his service within the coming days.” Carr offered no information regarding negotiations surrounding the special counsel’s potential testimony.

“They could instruct him not to appear voluntarily, but then Congress would just subpoena him, and I don’t think there is any basis for fighting the subpoena,” said Randall Eliason, a George Washington University law professor. “If they tell him not to go and he wants to go, he can quit and then go.”

more...

[Cattledog]

1. He should leave or resign sooner than later.

[WheelWalker]

2. Soon to be hired by a Congressional committee one might hope.

[bluestarone]

4. THIS is my greatest hope!

[iluvtennis]

7. +2

[SayItLoud]

13. Wow, what a great idea! NT

[TwilightZone]

3. It would make sense that he resign before testifying.

I think he might do just that, considering Carr's comments.

[BigmanPigman]

5. Finally someone is saying when he will be officially a

regular citizen and not DOJ employee under their rules and mandates. Yesterday someone was asked on CNN when he would officially be leaving but no one seemed to know for sure.

[W_HAMILTON]

6. Sounds like Mueller talk for "I'm going to testify and if you refuse to let me, I will resign."

[LudwigPastorius]

12. +1

[JDC]

8. I like the idea of Trump squirming on this proposition

[stillcool]

9. that is a pleasant thought...

I might make it into a bedtime story.

[forgotmylogin]

31. "But I wanted to be the one to fire him!"

"I'm the best firer in the history of ever!" - Trump, probably.

[maxsolomon]

10. Mueller outside the DOJ has no access to classified material or grand jury testimony.

Nor could he comment on it, I assume.

Nor would his presumably resigned staff.

I think this plays into Barr's hands somewhat - he becomes limited, and easier to ad hominem.

I hope I'm wrong.

[Blue_true]

15. I think that you are wrong.

He can speak to whether redacted information was in fact classified and if not, he could describe what is in it.

This is a worst case scenario for Barr.

[Amaryllis]

18. YOu are right .Remember when T took away someone's security clearance - I think CLapper?

because he was pissed at him and it was a big deal becasue nornally even after they no longer hold teh office, they still have security clearance so they can consult with other IT folks.

[FBaggins]

25. That's incorrect

It's true that retiring employees with security clearances might retain those clearances... but that doesn't mean that they can talk about the classified information.

He can certainly testify as a private citizen and probably doesn't have to go through the OLA to do it... but he couldn't discuss pending (or ongoing) prosecutions, release grand jury information, or hand over an unredacted copy of the report.

[tymorial]

28. The SC law plays into the AGs hands

hindsight is 20/20 Democrats didn't want another Ken Starr witchhunt we allowed the original law governing independent counsel to expire. The special counsel office replaced it. Under the current law the AG has a lot of power over the office of special counsel

[Doitnow]

32. Maybe he has another (unredacted) copy of his final report lying around. Seems like there should be

more than one or two if Mueller suspected Barr of being at all a mischievous sort. Wouldn't it be GRAND!

[spanone]

11. K&R...👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[Kablooie]

14. I wonder if Trump will threaten to cancel Mueler's pension.

[Blue_true]

16. He can't. Mueller retired under President Obama. That locked in his pension. nt

[Kablooie]

21. Why does that matter? This is Trump. Laws don't have any effect on him.

If he wants to do it, he'll do it.

[Lock him up.]

23. He can't do it himself. He could only give illegal orders to staffers...

so they go to prison if they get caught anytime after...

...Just.Like.Cohen... Go directly to jail, do not collect $200.

They're not over the law like the POTUS and they know it.

[prodigitalson]

17. I bet he leaves the DoJ and then complies with a subpoena as a private citizen nt

[UniteFightBack]

19. I heard on one of the shows he's gone by the end of the month. nt

[dflprincess]

20. I hope he's kept in a safe, undisclosed location until then.

Sorry, but I can't help but think of William Casey.


For those who may not be familiar:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Casey

Iran–Contra affair
Casey was suspected, by some, of involvement with the controversial Iran-Contra affair, in which Reagan administration personnel secretly traded arms to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and secretly diverted some of the resulting income to aid the rebel Contras in Nicaragua, in violation of U.S. law. Casey was called to testify before Congress about his knowledge of the affair. On 15 December, 1986, one day before Casey was scheduled to testify before Congress, Casey suffered two seizures and was hospitalized. Three days later, Casey underwent surgery for a previously undiagnosed brain tumor.[1][2][3][4][7][17]

In a 1987 book, Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA 1981–1987, Washington Post reporter and biographer Bob Woodward, who had interviewed Casey on a number of occasions for the biography, said that he had gained entry into Casey's hospital room for a final, four-minute encounter—a claim which was met with disbelief in many quarters as well as an adamant denial from Casey's wife, Sofia. According to Woodward, when Casey was asked if he knew about the diversion of funds to the Nicaraguan Contras, "His head jerked up hard. He stared, and finally nodded yes."[18]

Casey died in hospital less than 24 hours after former colleague Richard Secord testified that Casey supported the illegal aiding of the Contras.

All very convenient timing for Reagan and his VP.

[MH1]

27. Safe, Undisclosed location would be good.

I'm thinking Steyer or someone ought to have a fund set up to pay for a security team. But does our side even have connections to people like that (crack security) that we can really trust?

[Flaleftist]

22. I think a capital police security detail for Mueller would be a good idea.

[pdsimdars]

24. Mueller leaves "in coming days" . . . "soon" . . when exactly? Anybody know? Someone should know.

[wryter2000]

26. This is good

I only hope he'll leave any loyalty to Barr behind.

[mainstreetonce]

29. Mueller should do the talk show circuit

And write a book.

[watoos]

30. Someone wake me up

when you get a date that Mueller is scheduled to testify. Why does anyone think that Trump will not challenge a Mueller subpoena? I do think that Mueller will probably testify, but I'm not sure how long that will take since we aren't doing impeachment hearings.

[spanone]

33. Time for this guy to step up if he's the Patriot he's been painted.

[MadDAsHell]

34. Why do we have to "negotiate" the testimony of someone whose investigation was funded with $33m...

tax dollars? That's insulting.

Your taxes at work people; spend tens of millions on an investigation and then negotiate the possibility that the person that led that investigation MIGHT be willing to brief you afterwards. What a joke our system is.