The plot just thickened on William Barr and the Mueller report

[USALiberal]

The message from Mueller’s team, whether deliberate, seems to be: Stay tuned, and be wary of Attorney General William Barr

For the entirety of its probe, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team has been leakproof. When we learned things about its Russia investigation, it was almost always through people who found themselves mixed up in it. Mueller lived up to his by-the-book reputation.

Which makes what we saw Wednesday night all the more notable. The New York Times broke, then The Washington Post matched, the news that investigators on Mueller’s team were grousing about how Attorney General William P. Barr has handled summarizing their report.

Even if the leaks weren’t deliberate — the Times initially reported this secondhand as the Mueller team complaining to associates, not them — the fact that the investigators are complaining enough that this would leak is significant. It suggests a serious level of dissatisfaction and concern, if not a concerted effort to send a message before Barr’s big reveal of the Mueller report this month. These investigators may feel liberated to vent now that the probe is over (and some of them have even left the Justice Department), but you have to think this represents a very serious level of concern about Barr’s conduct, rather than just a few offhand comments.

More at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/04/plot-just-thickened-mueller-report

[Tactical Peek]

1. April 2 was the deadline for handing over the report to the Judiciary Committee.

April 2 was the deadline for handing over the report to the Judiciary Committee.

April 3 was the first leak from Mueller's team in two years.

[Perseus]

19. Where are the subpoenas?

I don't see them...Democrats threatened to send subpoenas if Barr did not comply with the April 2, 2019 deadline to hand the Muller report. They need to follow up on their word.

[MrsCoffee]

21. They just voted yesterday and gave Nadler the power to subpoena.

THE SUBPOENA WAR IS ON FOR THE MUELLER REPORT — AND IT’S GETTING UGLY

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/qvy7xp/the-subpoena-war-is-on-for-the-mueller-report-and-its-getting-ugly

The subpoena war is on for the Mueller report — and it’s getting ugly
By Matt Laslo Apr 4, 2019

WASHINGTON — The subpoena war is now on in Washington – and it promises to test the bounds of the separation of powers that are the hallmark of the U.S. Constitution.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to give committee chair Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) the power to subpoena Attorney General William Barr to gain access to the entire report that Robert Mueller sent to the Justice Department late last month.

While Nadler can drop that subpoena at any moment, publicly he’s hoping the mere threat of legal action will compel Barr — and others — to be forthright with the committee. "If that doesn’t work out, in a very short order, we’ll issue the subpoenas," Nadler said.

The Judiciary Committee also approved subpoenas for a coterie of Trump administration has-beens, including former chief of staff Reince Priebus, former adviser Steve Bannon, former communications director Hope Hicks and former White House counsel Don McGahn (along with his former deputy Ann Donaldson).

[Marthe48]

2. Are they leaks or is this the next step?

I heard or heard that maybe Mueller's team waited for the first missed deadline (April 2) to break their silence. I hope the entire unredacted report is released by whatever method, by whatever hero to the public. When they other side is ignoring the rule of law, the guidelines laid out in the law, to deconstruct our country, they need to be called on it. I'm tired of the pussyfooting around, supposing this, speculating that. The information to move forward on removing the criminals from their bogus positions is there. Let's get going.

[Reader Rabbit]

3. So, did Mueller set a trap?

He lays low once he hands the report over in order to see how it is dealt with by the crime family. They take steps to hide and/or misrepresent the report, and now those aiding and abetting the crime family are also in a position to face consequences.

[marylandblue]

7. Many of these people no longer work for Mueller

So he may have nothing to do with it. His staff are free agents now, so they can leak or call Congress on their own. As long as they don't reveal classified info or compromise an ongoing investigation, they can say what they want.

If they go the House Intelligence Committee, they can say everything.

[onenote]

24. Not really

While the members of the House Intelligence Committee likely have clearance to receive classified information, they have no more right to secret grand jury testimony than anyone else. To what extent disclosure of grand jury testimony is allowed (and when) will be up to the supervising court.

[marylandblue]

27. I've read different legal opinions on that.

Some said Congress has a right to see grand jury information privately. I don't know if that's right, but I think at least they could comment on report conclusions without revealing grand jury information.

[onenote]

30. Congress does not have the right to see grand jury testimony unless the supervising court allows it.

There have been (and are currently) a number of court cases on this issue.

[Initech]

4. To paraphrase the movie Wayne's World:

"William Barr is nobody's friend. If William Barr were an ice cream flavor, he'd be Pralines And Dick."

[Ilsa]

8. I saw that movie 3 times. Thank you for

Reminding me of Mike Meyers' (Myers'?) wicked wit.

[Initech]

15. I just watched it the other day, it still holds up pretty well!

That scene with Alice Cooper always gets me!

[Lonestarblue]

5. Barr is whitewashing the Mueller report.

He has already forgotten that the oath he swore so recently was to protect the people and the Constitution of the United States—not to serve as the president’s personal attorney and political protector.

[USALiberal]

20. So true! Nt

[quakerboy]

34. That would be remarkable

Barring serious memory issues, it would be hard to forget something you were specifically hired to subvert so quickly

[Laura PourMeADrink]

6. I like that someone said last night, that if it goes

to court...Trump's own words..."sure, release it all!" will come back to haunt him. Something like it's not the AG who is harmed or unharmed but the president and he has no problem with it. Sorry for the non-legal explanation.

I am not getting my hopes up. He only gained one point in approvals. So this is worse case.

[Honeycombe8]

9. I'll wait until we hear complaints from the horse's mouth, Mr. Mueller.

Until then, all this secondhand information isn't that useful. If it's even real. It's also possible it was team members responding to complaint by associates to them about WTH?...why no decisions or indictments or anything...why punt to the administration? It's possible the team members are trying to deflect for the unhappiness with the Special Counsel team's decisions. As in, "Hey, we had no idea that Barr would totally leave out what we DID find, all the evidence we reviewed that implicates people. We even provided a summary for Barr to use."

But of course, when you're dealing with a corrupt administration, punting to the administration means that it's likely it won't do the right thing. Everyone knows it. So there can be no deflection on Barr's summary misrepresenting the facts. The administration is corrupt, as the Special Counsel's office knows, and Barr is on record as being against the whole investigation, and is a partisan appointee appointed by one of the subjects of the investigation. Of COURSE Barr was never going to provide a full, balanced, summary.

I respect the Special Counsel's office, and accept its decisions not to take any action against the Trump family members or others for conspiracy or aiding/abetting or against Trump for obstruction. But I don't know what to think about these leaked tidbits, told secondhand to the NYT. So I'll wait for Mueller's testimony before Congress. Even if he testifies behind closed doors, our Democratic reps can tell us what's what, without classified details.

[Hortensis]

16. Suspect they're genuine. These people

Know how to keep their mouths shut, and their friends know it well. One day after deadline, sea change.

[ffr]

10. The USA under attack by the Republicans, I mean, Russians

Definitely warrants raising the bar on the seriousness.

[Amaryllis]

32. Russians/REpublicans...no difference.

[Marcuse]

11. The Barr Report may be this Administration's final obstruction of justice.

[Harker]

13. That's a nice thought.

I'm sadly thinking the obstruction will continue ad infinitum. It's already past ad nauseam.

[True Blue American]

35. AG John Mitchell

Went to jail. A reminder, Bill!

[USALiberal]

23. I hope so! Nt

[ProfessorPlum]

12. gee, thanks for the message

everyone with a pulse and access to history knew to be wary of Barr.

Why did they let him run wild for two weeks before opening their mouths?

[USALiberal]

14. Maybe they hoped he would do the right thing. Nt

[Hortensis]

22. Giving them rope to hang themselves

before the public.

[Linda Ed]

17. Mueller wrote summaries

for different sections of the report so that Barr could immediately release them publicly, with minimum redactions so that “the work would have spoken for itself,” a U.S. official told WaPo. Barr did not release the summaries.

[duforsure]

18. Just a matter of time before Barr realizes

He picked the wrong side to represent , and he's maybe headed to prison with many others . He will be corrupted even more representing trump, because he'll keep demanding he protect him and many others , and to do illegal things . Barr's future will be a disaster for him from doing this to the country , the American people , and to the rule of law, and OUR Democracy.

[onenote]

25. What would Barr be going to prison for doing?

[True Blue American]

36. Obstruction

The same thing that sent John Mitchell to jail.

A little reminder of the past.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/martha-mitchell

[dem4decades]

28. Barr is following the shitty rules.

[Perrenial Voter]

26. I think allowing the grousing to get out was a deliberate shot across the bow for Barr and Trump...

They didn't technically leak any information, so they can't be held accountable. But they show that they could leak things, as Comey did, for strategic reasons.

[matt819]

29. You know what would be entertaining?

Reports of a undisclosed contacts between Barr and Russians.

[Amaryllis]

31. This saga has more plot thickening than any fiction story ever written.

[BootinUp]

33. Barr is a disgrace. Nt

[True Blue American]

37. I received my huge

Official Invitation to be a Founding Member of the Donald trump Coalition yesterday! Anyone else get one? The more money I give the higher I will be in this WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION!

[Raster]

38. Barr* is a rethuglican fixer, plain and simple...

...and has been involved --sometimes quietly, sometimes prominently-- in cleaning up the illegal actions and other NASTY BITS for the last four rethuglican* administrations.