Barr takes shots at Mueller during tense Senate hearing

[demmiblue]

Source: Politico

Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday offered pointed critiques of Robert Mueller’s investigation after it was revealed that the special counsel had twice pressed Barr to speed the release of his report's summaries and introductions to Congress and the public.

In testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barr repeatedly questioned Mueller's investigation, suggesting he wasn't sure why the special counsel investigated numerous instances of potential obstruction of justice if he decided he couldn't charge President Donald Trump with a crime under Justice Department restrictions.

"The other thing that was confusing to me was that the investigation carried on for a while as additional episodes [of obstruction] were looked into," Barr said. "The question is, or was, why were those investigated at the end of the day if you weren’t going to reach a decision?"

Barr also said that if Mueller had found enough evidence to charge the president with obstruction, he would have noted it in his report.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/01/barr-hearing-mueller-report-1295274

[forgotmylogin]

1. "The question is, or was, why were those investigated at the end of the day..."

"The question is, or was, why were those investigated at the end of the day if you weren’t going to reach a decision?" --Barr

Perhaps because you wrote a letter supporting precedent that legally ties Mueller's hands that "a sitting president can't be indicted" and therefore Mueller was setting Congress up to provide proper oversight via investigation and impeachment and that's why he withheld his own conclusion so as not to display bias?

[The_Counsel]

5. Better Question: "Why Obstruct Justice If You Haven't Done Anything Wrong?"

I'm getting increasingly frustrated that NO ONE has asked that question--or is even heading toward asking it....

[Marthe48]

2. A decorated USMC Vietnam veteran?

or a lying sack of crap who is serving traitor trump?

Who do you believe?

[The_Counsel]

3. Barr Is Being Disingenuous. What Else Is New?

"The other thing that was confusing to me was that the investigation carried on for a while as additional episodes [of obstruction] were looked into," Barr said. "The question is, or was, why were those investigated at the end of the day if you weren’t going to reach a decision?"

All well and good, Mr. Barr, but check it: Mueller was supposed to investigate any other potentially criminal activity stemming from the investigation into Russian tampering. He did that. The fact that the DoJ isn't inclined to indict the President isn't even the point. That's why Congress was supposed to get the report: so it can decide what to do from there.

Barr is basically saying that because the DoJ, as a matter of policy, will not indict a sitting President, that there should be no investigation in the first place--which is just wrong on so many levels.

And, BTW, the DoJ policy not to indict a sitting President is just that: Policy. It is NOT law, and certainly should not override any law actually on the books...

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

4. What a bullshit argument by Barr!!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[maxsolomon]

6. it doesn't work like that.

you have to pick one, they pick the other.

IMHO, neither would pick the other.

[Thekaspervote]

7. I wonder how Muelller's friendship with his ol pal barr is fairng. And are the wives still

Doing bible study? Hey...mrs barr did you and your hubby forget the thou shalt not lie one?

[MBS]

9. I'm guessing they won't be doing a lot of socializing

any time soon.

[riversedge]

8. Over and over in his testimony on Wednesday, Attorney General Bill Barr chided special counsel Rober

I really want to smack him.






Barr Slams Mueller Over And Over During Senate Testimony
Alex Wong/Getty Images North America
By Josh Kovensky
May 1, 2019 4:11 pm

Over and over in his testimony on Wednesday, Attorney General Bill Barr chided special counsel Robert Mueller over his handling of the Russia probe.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/barr-criticize-special-counsel-robert-mueller

..........Barr’s criticisms of Mueller mostly focused on procedural issues, but they tended to come as part of the attorney general’s defense of his own conduct.

Particularly in response to critiques that he decided to clear President Trump of any wrongdoing on obstruction when it wasn’t necessarily his decision to make, Barr lashed out at the special prosecutor, arguing that Mueller overstepped his bounds both in investigating certain allegations of obstruction and in publishing his own analysis of the matter.
Mueller should have halted obstruction probe

At one point Wednesday morning, the attorney general told Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that Mueller should have stopped the obstruction if he believed he was unable to prosecute the President.

“If he felt he shouldn’t go down the path of making a traditional prosecutive decision, he shouldn’t have investigated,” Barr said. “That was the time to pull up.”

Justice Department policy has long stated that a sitting president cannot be indicted......................

[mr_lebowski]

10. Mueller should just say 'okay fukco, here's your criminal referral'

"After further review of the evidence, conducted after the Attorney General demanded we cut short our investigation, The Special Counsel's Office recommends that President Donald J. Trump be indicted with 10 criminal counts of Obstruction of Justice"

Just blow his stupid-ass argument out the water.

[malaise]

11. +1,000