'Deliberately deceived the nation': Legal experts stunned by 'jaw-dropping' report on Barr, Durham

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

protecting Trump

Legal experts are now weighing in on Thursday’s bombshell, massive and months-long reporting from The New York Times that reveals, among several previously unknown allegations, that then-Attorney General Bill Barr and his special counsel, John Durham were handed apparent evidence of suspicious financial acts by Donald Trump, and proceeded to create a false public narrative that Durham’s investigation found evidence of “suspicious financial dealings” related to Trump, suggesting it was on the part of the FBI, not the president, in order to protect the president.

“On one of Mr. Barr and Mr. Durham’s trips to Europe,” The Times reveals, “according to people familiar with the matter, Italian officials — while denying any role in setting off the Russia investigation — unexpectedly offered a potentially explosive tip linking Mr. Trump to certain suspected financial crimes.”

The Times adds that “Mr. Barr and Mr. Durham never disclosed that their inquiry expanded in the fall of 2019, based on a tip from Italian officials, to include a criminal investigation into suspicious financial dealings related to Mr. Trump.”

“Mr. Durham never filed charges, and it remains unclear what level of an investigation it was, what steps he took, what he learned and whether anyone at the White House ever found out. The extraordinary fact that Mr. Durham opened a criminal investigation that included scrutinizing Mr. Trump has remained secret.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/deliberately-deceived-the-nation-legal-experts-stunned-by-jaw-dropping-report-on-barr-durham-protecting-trump/ar-AA16OEjx

What a short memory some people have. Look up how Bill Barr handled Iran-Contra.

[Scrivener7]

1. Yeah. Jaw-dropping. But I bet there aren't any consequences.

[kacekwl]

14. Nah they will

write books about it.

[NullTuples]

18. AG Garland let the statute of limitations clock run out, so you are correct.

[Silent3]

38. Well, it would tarnish the reputation of the DoJ to look so political.

We can't have that!

[Alexander Of Assyria]

44. I bet there will be...Barr is barred from seeking political office!? And disBarrment?

[Scrivener7]

45. Cute. But no. None of that will happen.

[2naSalit]

2. K&R

[Samrob]

3. Proving once again that GOPer and Trumpers are less than shit and anti-American. nt

[republianmushroom]

4. Why are the legal experts stunned, didn't they know Barr was a A-O and would do

what ever it took to protect trump ?

[gratuitous]

5. Legal experts are "stunned"?

Considering how much of these shenanigans was going on in broad daylight for anyone with a scintilla of curiosity, I'd have to say that the community of legal experts should turn in their rose-colored glasses and Pollyanna dresses.

No, the deep down gory details weren't out in the open, there was enough suspicious activity noticed and reported in any number of spheres. Anyone pointing out the lack of clothes the emperor was parading around in was summarily dismissed by legal experts, especially those in the media who should have shown slightly more initiative than a pro wrestling referee. The citation to Barr's career as a government attorney is especially appropriate (including how he got the AG job under the former guy in the first place). But since Barr is a made man in The Club, he is far above the consideration and judgment of mere mortals. "No one is above the law" is a wink-nod inside joke in those precincts.

[Autumn]

8. I think that the experts are "stunned" to see it in print. It will be over in a day or two

and they can go back to ignoring it.

[DENVERPOPS]

30. Good one Gras

This is, BY FAR, these "new" Republicans are the most thoroughly corrupt Political Party in the history of our nation. The Republicans have become a truly Fascist Party, with absolutely no respect for the U.S. Constitution, Democracy, or the Rule of Law........

Sadly, if we were able to stop all the continued carnage by the Republicans, it would still take DECADES, just to reverse everything already done in the past 40+ years starting with Reagan, but especially since 2000 with WBush, and most especially in the last 6+ years with Trump.........

[Autumn]

6. Someone should mention this to Mr. Garland. Maybe he could make a statement. nt

[NullTuples]

20. Someone really should check on him and make sure he's just sleeping.

[DENVERPOPS]

31. Mr Garland

being a life long devoted Republican, just skirted on the issues being investigated. I am sure that he felt if he really went after disclosing the complete truth that it would bring down the entire Republican party forever, and he just couldn't let that happen.....

All the Republican's are just playing kick the can down the road on everything, and hoping that it will just go away, all on it's own, if given time........

[wnylib]

47. Merrick Garland is life long Republican???

Talk about a Big Lie. Garland is NOT a Republican.

According to Wikipedia, he is a liberal Independent. He has been appointed to positions by presidents like Clinton and Biden. He clerked under liberal judges.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrick_Garland#:~:text=until%20his%20retirement.-,Notable%20cases,prosecution%20bent%20in%20criminal%20cases%22.

[DENVERPOPS]

51. Sorry,

I meant Mueller.............

[jalan48]

7. Sounds like a situation that could use the appointment of a special prosecutor.

[underpants]

9. Read the NYT article - Barr used this to suggest someone on the left was the focus

Knowing full well he was spoon feeding nonsense to Fox who spent a lot of time speculating who it was. Barr came back out and said it wasn’t Obama or Biden but that was all. He clearly purposely didn’t give the whole picture.

[barbtries]

10. are you fucking kidding me?

it would be news if they weren't deceptive. Nobody remembers Barr's "summary" of the Mueller Report? whose jaw is dropping FFS.

i hate republicans

[sybylla]

17. Yep. Same. n/t

[Peregrine Took]

29. Well said. NYT reporter just said R's see us as the "enemy" and they're in a war with us. n/t

[barbtries]

33. well, allow me to expand on my statement.

i hate republicans and the fucking media that kisses their asses at every opportunity.

years and years ago, it seems like i was watching a Katie Couric show, and I feel like that was when I grew a sense of dread that has just turned into my constant companion. I cannot give the year, I cannot provide the context. But whatever the subject was, she said something, all unsure of herself, like, is that too liberal? or something like that.

the media facilitated republicans making liberal a dirty word. motherfuckers. corporate greed meisters. I don't know what I would do without DU.

[mjvpi]

42. I especially hate the hypocrisy that comes with them.

They want to investigate Hunter Biden making money from being the son of the vice President and the President. I would love to see them take a serious look at how families monetize and maximize relationships that are made because of their orbit of their family relations. This IS something that both sides do and I believe that they shouldn’t .We should look at Hunter Biden and the Trump kids

[infullview]

11. And no one will pay a price for any of the deception.

Cause, you know, QOP.

[MontanaMama]

12. Rethug jaws aren't dropping.

Betrayal of their oaths of office is all these people are capable of.

[Evolve Dammit]

13. Means nothing to them. Soul less and immoral. They are enjoying it all. A way of life. n/t

[yardwork]

15. Lock them up.

[onecaliberal]

16. They're nothing but shit stains in history.

[malaise]

19. Look up how Bill Barr handled Iran-Contra.

This

[ancianita]

35. Yup.

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/14/684553791/william-barr-supported-pardons-in-an-earlier-d-c-witch-hunt-iran-contra

Then-Attorney General Barr supported the president's decision in the Iran-Contra case, which gave clemency to people who had been officials in the administration of President Ronald Reagan, including former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. He had been set to go on trial to face charges about lying to Congress...

"It demonstrates that powerful people with powerful allies can commit serious crimes in high office, deliberately abusing the public trust without consequences," said Lawrence Walsh, the independent prosecutor in the case, at the time of the pardons.

Barr said later that he believed Bush had made the right decision and that he felt people in the case had been treated unfairly.

"The big ones — obviously, the Iran-Contra ones — I certainly did not oppose any of them," Barr said as part of the Presidential Oral History Program of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia.

"I favored the broadest pardon authority," Barr said. "There were some people just arguing just for Weinberger. I said, 'No — in for a penny, in for a pound.' "

[Mz Pip]

21. The New York Times report

is long on details and definitely worth the read if you can access it. I read it yesterday and as was appalled by Barr’s behavior, though wasn’t surprised. He’s a snake who wants to have it both ways.

[Permanut]

22. Wait until they find out that bears shit in the woods!

[FakeNoose]

23. It doesn't take much to stun these legal experts, does it?

If any of them had been reading DU they would have known this stuff ages ago.
Now what are they going to DO about it?

[Mr. Ected]

24. When will ordinary Americans be able to commit crimes without consequences?

Equal protection under the law my ass. The rich and mighty get protection; we do not. And our crimes tend to pale in comparison to the crimes perpetrated by the people of means.

I don't have a solution. I'd love to change the world, but I don't know what to do, so I'll leave it up to you.

[Fiendish Thingy]

25. Apparently, the trips to Italy were a few weeks before Durham was appointed SC

And so, the evidence collected there is not required to be part of his final report.

[Autumn]

26. Always an out.

[Snoopy 7]

27. Sleep Walking Through History (Again)

How could any educated politician or member of the judicial society not know what Bill Barr was up to. Barr covered up during the nixon era, the regan era, and the bush era, that’s his job. He doesn’t even try to cover it up, he’s doing it in front of everybody. I’m surprise that people are surprised. ‘If you don’t know your history you’re bound to repeat it’

[bagimin]

32. I'm not a lawyer but this is

clearly criminal. Lock those fuckers up.

[Lonestarblue]

34. There hasn't been a decent Republican president since Eisenhower--and he would be a Democrat today.

Nixon’s crimes got him kicked out of office.

Ford had a short time in office but made a big mistake in pardoning Nixon.

Reagan started off with Iran-Contra, then tax and other cuts that started transferring wealth to the top 1%. We’re still living with his “government is the problem” nonsense, along with bogus trickle-down economics.

Bush Sr. was probably the least disastrous, but he didn’t do anything to help the country. He focused on foreign policy and got Saddam out of Kuwait, though that may have set the stage for 9/11.

Bush Jr. was weakness personified, listening to his warmongers to attack Iraq even though they knew there was no link to 9/11 or WMD. Resentment among Islamists led to al Qaeda and ISIS. The Great Recession can be laid at the feet of his administration.

And then there’s Trump. We all know the level of corruption increased a thousand percent under Trump, and future generations will be saddled with his cult and their desire to destroy the country for generations—just as we’re still dealing with Reagan’s anti-government ideas that took root and thrived under Republicans.

I’d like to think that this version of Republicanism that embraces crime, lies, and conspiracies will soon die off, but I have no such faith. Republicans and their media propagandists will keep it alive so long as it is useful to win elections.

[housecat]

37. As long as media propagandists swim in money they'll keep rolling

[Solly Mack]

36. K&R

Stunned? Snort.

[moniss]

39. I do believe that the Italian

government is under no restriction as far as disclosing details not only about what they relayed to Barr/Durham but also their interactions afterward. That's the end to work this from.

[JT45242]

40. Guy who lied about the Mueller report and Iran contra lied about other stuff..

To quote Iago, I am going to have a heart attacks and die of not surprised.

[czarjak]

41. One known known was that it was pure bullshit as it was happening.

Actually wish being right was more satisfying. Sad.

[SMoss]

43. Why Barr took the AG job

I wondered why an old guy who had a good reputation would want to associate with what was obviously going to be a disastrous administration.
Barr was a young man when his father employed a young Epstein as a teacher at the private school he ran in NYC. They certainly knew each other. They were both probably abusing the girls in the school. My guess is that Barr campaigned for and took the job as AG to get access to Epstein and silence him. Epstein was probably blackmailing him like so many other powerful people.

[spanone]

46. K&R

[tishaLA]

50. And yet laughably, repubs have their committee abt Democrats

politicizing the DOJ. If every single Democrat on that committee doesn't hammer these NYT findings during hearings, it will be political malpractice.