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MelissaB

(16,420 posts)
Tue Oct 1, 2019, 10:19 AM Oct 2019

'Pure insanity': Intelligence veterans are floored by Barr's 'off the books' overtures to foreign of

'Pure insanity': Intelligence veterans are floored by Barr's 'off the books' overtures to foreign officials about the Russia probe

*Intelligence veterans were puzzled by revelations that Attorney General William Barr personally urged foreign officials to cooperate with a Justice Department investigation into the origins of the Russia probe.

*"This is unheard of," one former senior Justice Department official who worked closely with the former special counsel Robert Mueller when he was FBI director, told Insider.

*The Washington Post reported that Barr has already made overtures to British intelligence officials about the matter and traveled to Italy last week to ask senior Italian officials to cooperate with the inquiry.

*The New York Times reported that Barr also asked President Donald Trump to ask the Australian prime minister to cooperate with the investigation. And Trump named Barr as his personal envoy when making a similar request in July to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

*"There are people at DOJ whose whole job is to coordinate investigative efforts with foreign governments," a longtime former federal prosecutor told Insider. "Makes a person wonder why Barr didn't trust them to do this stuff. Something he didn't trust career-DOJ people to do? Something more political than justice-related?"


National security veterans were flummoxed Monday by revelations that Attorney General William Barr traveled overseas and personally asked top foreign intelligence officials to help with a Justice Department inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation.

The Washington Post reported Monday that Barr has already made overtures to British intelligence officials and last week traveled to Italy, where he and John Durham, the US attorney in charge of investigating the Russia probe's origins, asked senior Italian government officials to assist with Durham's work. The report said it was not Barr's first trip to Italy to meet with intelligence officials.

"This is unheard of," one former senior Justice Department official who worked closely with the former special counsel Robert Mueller when he was FBI director, told Insider.

John Sipher, a longtime former CIA clandestine services officer, agreed.

"This is pure insanity," he wrote. "First of all its really dumb to think foreign services trust Barr more than their regular interlocutors. Also, it is crazy that people like Barr actually believe large groups of people were secretly conspiring in an election." Sipher was referring to Trump's and his allies' claims that senior officials in the FBI and DOJ manufactured the Russia probe to undermine his chances at winning the 2016 race.

More: https://www.businessinsider.com/intel-veterans-react-barr-requests-foreign-officials-russia-probe-origins-2019-9
11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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'Pure insanity': Intelligence veterans are floored by Barr's 'off the books' overtures to foreign of (Original Post) MelissaB Oct 2019 OP
Nothing like new foreign entanglements Zambero Oct 2019 #1
So the attorney general's job is to run errands for the mob boss dalton99a Oct 2019 #2
"... it's really dumb to think foreign services trust Barr more than their regular interloculators" hlthe2b Oct 2019 #3
Barr isn't investigating, Barr is fabricating a smear for the Trump campaign. Thomas Hurt Oct 2019 #4
You can bet barr is 'leaning' on them.... spanone Oct 2019 #11
The Barr gets lower every day. BSdetect Oct 2019 #5
Barr becomes the despicable poster child for the old wisdom about ..... MFGsunny Oct 2019 #6
"spitting nails" Pacifist Patriot Oct 2019 #7
Thanks for posting this... Mike 03 Oct 2019 #9
Kick! Mike 03 Oct 2019 #8
Hubris Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Oct 2019 #10

Zambero

(8,954 posts)
1. Nothing like new foreign entanglements
Tue Oct 1, 2019, 10:23 AM
Oct 2019

that are used in an attempt to discredit the proven impacts of other recent foreign entanglements.

hlthe2b

(101,715 posts)
3. "... it's really dumb to think foreign services trust Barr more than their regular interloculators"
Tue Oct 1, 2019, 10:24 AM
Oct 2019

Yes. exactly. Who are they going to trust and seek to work with? Some bombastic, conspiracy-driven, Trump sycophant? or those colleagues they've devoted decades of time coming to know and trust in a mutually beneficial relationship. I really can't imagine their governments are really going to encourage them to provide more than the most cursory response to Trump-Barr demands. Why the hell would they?

spanone

(135,633 posts)
11. You can bet barr is 'leaning' on them....
Tue Oct 1, 2019, 01:25 PM
Oct 2019

and nations will want to make their allies happy....maybe even conjure something up for the prez

MFGsunny

(2,356 posts)
6. Barr becomes the despicable poster child for the old wisdom about .....
Tue Oct 1, 2019, 10:31 AM
Oct 2019

"what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive"

(quote attributed to Sir Walter Scott from his 1808 poem Marmion.)

Pacifist Patriot

(24,647 posts)
7. "spitting nails"
Tue Oct 1, 2019, 10:38 AM
Oct 2019

A friend of mine's husband is a former FBI agent who worked in counterintelligence from time to time. I asked her what his reaction was to the story. She said, among other things, "spitting nails." And mentioned the steam was still coming out of his ears this morning. She said she cannot remember him ever being this angry.

I don't think "puzzled" and "flummoxed" is doing their reaction justice. Just a hunch.

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