Lindsey Graham Implicates William Barr in Massive Scandal, on Live Television

[babylonsister]

the national interest 10:16 A.M.
Lindsey Graham Implicates William Barr in Massive Scandal, on Live Television
By Jonathan Chait


Yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham appeared on Face the Nation and blurted out an apparent confession of what, if true, would be a scandal of Nixonian proportions. Graham reported he had spoken with Attorney General William Barr that morning. “The Department of Justice is receiving information coming out of the Ukraine from Rudy,” he reported, explaining that Barr “told me that they’ve created a process that Rudy could give information and they would see if it’s verified.”

Graham explained why, in his opinion, this state of affairs is appropriate: “Rudy Giuliani is a well-known man. He’s a crime fighter. He’s loyal to the president. He’s a good lawyer.” On the contrary, he is describing an arrangement that is not only the appearance of a conflict of interest but a massive abuse on its face.

First, Giuliani is not a government official. He is representing Donald Trump as an individual, a fact he has made perfectly clear. He boasted to the New York Times last May that he was seeking to uncover “information will be very, very helpful to my client, and may turn out to be helpful to my government.” The distinction between “will” and “may” was Rudy’s open acknowledgement that he was looking out for Trump, not the U.S. government, and that the interests of the two might not be the same. He was even more clear in a letter to Ukrainian President Zelensky, which his former partner, Lev Parnas, produced. The letter stated Giuliani was representing Trump “as a private citizen, not as President of the United States”:

So, can any private citizen have their lawyer send allegations to Barr? What is this special “process” he created to let Rudy supply him with allegations? Is it a 1-800 number, a drop box, or what? Has Barr told the Democratic candidates how the process works so they can have their lawyers feed their own leads to him?
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The second problem here is that Giuliani is not only representing a presidential candidate as his personal client. He is working in close contact with foreign partners who have a combination of personal interests and foreign-policy goals that do not line up with U.S. interests. He has not disclosed who is paying him for his work, but he was paid half a million dollars by Parnas, who was in turn paid by Dymtro Firtash, a Russian oligarch whose work tends to advance Russian foreign-policy interests. This raises the strong possibility that Giuliani is effectively a paid backchannel for Russian propaganda, and he now has a special line into the Department of Justice.

Third, Giuliani himself is the reported subject of a criminal investigation. Two of his partners have already been arrested, and the Department of Justice is reportedly pursuing the possibility of charges against Giuliani as well. (He allegedly pursued his own profit-making scheme in Ukraine, and seems to have committed campaign finance violations, by funneling foreign donations to Republican allies.)

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https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/lindsey-graham-william-barr-rudy-giuliani-lev-parnas-ukraine-trump.html

[BSdetect]

1. Expect an excuse of having "misspoke" shortly.

[CaptYossarian]

12. He was misquoted by his own mouth.

And Rudy WAS a crimefighter. Now he's an accomplice.

[DENVERPOPS]

19. CY.....we are soooo fucked N/C

[CaptYossarian]

22. We are every time the GOP slithers into the WH.

[erronis]

39. Strange that no one else has noticed this connection. GOP disaster/corruption

Leave the Democrats with the mess to clean up.

Lie [stet] low for a cycle and then rinse/lather, repeat.

Meanwhile the moneybags funding these exercises are stealing from the treasury.

[pandr32]

2. This is a very big deal

[SummerSnow]

51. The dems and the news media should be all over this. Horrible

[pandr32]

54. Yes, they should

[patphil]

3. Rumors have it that

Rudy will be passing his information to Bill Barr via clandestine meetings in an undisclosed parking garage outside Washington DC.
Rudy, undercover name is "deep tongue".

[onetexan]

18. LOL

good one

[lagomorph777]

32. Deep tongue, shallow mind.

[burrowowl]

37. No, deep brown nose!

[BusyBeingBest]

4. The GOP mafia are operating out in the open.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. Yes

But thank goodness Trump didn't get removed from the ballot! THAT would have been horrible- per Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski

[BusyBeingBest]

10. LOL, yes. This is merely "disappointing" and "inappropriate".

[Proud Liberal Dem]

11. Expect them out shortly

to issue forth their proclamations of "concern"

[Takket]

5. We should probably ask the DOJ to investigate this....

OOPS

[mountain grammy]

52. Exactly!

[Maru Kitteh]

7. Who would hold him accountable? Nobody

under this regime.

[joost5]

50. It's frightening that there can be no oversight while GOP holds power

Winning back the Presidency and Senate is a must.

[rusty fender]

8. Bollocks! Rudy has always given shit to Barr

In fact, Barr went on a world tour in search of shit on Ukraine, and the Bidens. The U.S.’s Attorney General is entirely a political arm of the Trumpass re-election campaign

[lame54]

15. Right - now they are setting up the reveal

[Duppers]

17. Zactly.

We've known this.

[Docreed2003]

9. And the GOP Senate gave them the green light to do so

I expect only much worse things to follow.

[Martin Eden]

13. Trump is a crime boss, and Rudy is one of his goons

AG Barr is a high ranking goon in the operation.

Republicans in Congress are co-opted the way Al Capone paid off or intimidated corrupt city officials.

[uponit7771]

14. Has the DOJ spoken out or do they not care that they look like they're on the take?!!

[Rider3]

16. A scandal of Nixonian proportions???

Really? Because Trump's impeachment counts were much worse than whatever Nixon ever did. Nixon's actions were child's play. Trump's are so far beyond being corrupt -- in the open, no less -- that it well surpasses anything Nixon ever did.

[burrowowl]

38. 15 Flusher makes Nixon look like a good guy

and at least Nixon didn't shred the Constitution.

Trump et al are gangsters run amok!

[Lucky Luciano]

20. Irrelevant. This abuse is allowed for republicans.

[paparush]

21. Is that on Rudy's resume? "Crime fighter"?

MFer is basically a shadow state department operating without oversight.

[CaptYossarian]

23. He was a prosecutor when he was sane.

[jmowreader]

27. Rudy has never been "sane"

He was, however, a prosecutor.

[CaptYossarian]

41. Okay, before he resembled Nosferatu.

[jmowreader]

42. I can live with that

I can see why Trump likes the guy: he "cleaned up New York City" by turning it into a police state.

[calimary]

24. MOST interesting! We need to make a note of this.

For future investigations.

[bluestarone]

25. They are dumber that all the mobsters of past years BUT the difference is

The WHOLE (except Romney) Rethuglicon senate is covering their ASS'S! That's the BIG difference WE have to change in NOVEMBER!!!

[liberalla]

30. This may be what saves us...

Drump is really bad at everything, including crime. So clumsy and obvious. Too emotional and impulsive. Like Rick Wilson says, everything drump touches dies.

[uponit7771]

26. Where is the DOJ IG?! Why are they quiet ?!

[liberalla]

28. ** What ARE they cooking up?

Something big, bad and convoluted. They have to fabricate/coordinate supporting fake documents and phony evidence. Maybe deep fake videos... They're not looking for dirt, they're creating it. I expect them to be first rate forgeries. They are playing for all the marbles.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

29. Key: Giuliani subject of criminal investigation & two partners arrested & charged. . . . nt

[OliverQ]

31. And nothing can be done about it.

I never realized the entire DoJ had zero patriots in it.

[TeamPooka]

33. News organizations Need to find out who is paying Rudy

Need to find out who is paying Rudy
Because it’s not trump

[Eyeball_Kid]

35. Firtash n/t

[Pepsidog]

34. Great points.

[maxsolomon]

36. It's all the same fucking scandal. He's already been impeached, tried, and let off the hook for it.

This is just (further) confirmation. The POTUS is coordinating a disinformation campaign with the GRU and the Rooshin Mob. The AG is either abetting it or humoring President Asshole and his senile, gullible "lawyer".

The DOJ is corrupted and compromised. Nothing will be done until Trump is gone.

[usaf-vet]

40. Even the Face The Nation interviewer had the good sense to ask Graham 'Why isn't that a problem.....

.... government (taxpayer money) paying for opposition research for the2020 election paid for by the taxpayer". Then she followed up with "who's paying Rudy". The first answer was totally a bunch of words and phrases strung together. The second got this from Graham "I don't know who's paying Rudy"

So I have a question for Suzy Collins so is this what you think is learning his lesson. Trump, Giuliani, Ukraine, and Bidens. What has changed? Nothing!

[Brainfodder]

43. When the levers are pulled, these folks have it coming to them in spades?

Hang the lot of them slow upside down with mirrors surrounding them, oh what a fitting end for these evil faux!

Record every second of it, full confessors may get a reprieve but those noose marks, they last, how deep will yours go Moscow Mitch, that's one hell of a pouch, sir!
*kaplooooey*

What a dream I had, eh?


The brazenness is what is different now, it's not your imagination.

[volstork]

44. I am ready for these

MFers to go to jail.

[sellitman]

45. Bizarro world.

By today's GOP standards this isn't even newsworthy.

[Marie Marie]

46. Just add it to the pile of corruption that will have zero consequences.

[reACTIONary]

47. K&R

[PatrickforO]

48. Just keeps getting worse, doesn't it? n/t

[Ferrets are Cool]

49. Doesn't mean a thing when the country is run by a dictatorship

[riversedge]

53. and has Repubs and Barr, DOJ to back Trump up.

[Ferrets are Cool]

55. And, as it seems quite clear now...the ability to STOP any investigations or

prosecutions sentences they want.