The only press conference William Barr should be giving is one at which he resigns
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Ten days ago, Attorney General William Barr visited Capitol Hill, where his uniform response to every question about the report prepared by special counsel Robert Mueller was the same: He would not talk about the contents of the report until Congress first haThe only press conference William Barr should be giving is one at which he resigns
Ten days ago, Attorney General William Barr visited Capitol Hill, where his uniform response to every question about the report prepared by special counsel Robert Mueller was the same: He would not talk about the contents of the report until Congress first had a chance to look at it. Then, on Wednesday, days after Barr had promised to deliver the report, he announced that he would talk about the report before it’s available to Congress. He will hold a press conference more than an hour before a hard copy of the “color coded” redacted report is released, and an unknown amount of time before the report is made accessible on the Department of Justice’s website. The extent to which this event is pure political theater is made clear by one fact: Mueller will not take part. Barr is, once again, “summarizing” what the special counsel found, without any input from the special counsel himself. It’s exactly the same tack that Barr took in writing his three-page letter to Congress, and with the same intent: provide cover to Donald Trump regardless of the evidence. This blatant effort to spin the results has generated calls for Barr to cancel the news conference from the chairs of the House Judiciary, Intelligence, Oversight, Finance, and Foreign Affairs committees. During his visit to Congress, Barr made conflicting and evasive statements about whether or not he had shared the contents of the report with the White House. Though neither Barr nor Trump officials have given a definitive answer, it’s now clear that Barr has not only made the report available to the White House, but he’s also made his redactions clear to them. The White House not only knows what’s there, it knows what is not there. That knowledge has allowed Trump’s legal team to tailor a “counter report” to be released to attack the conclusions that are still visible in the redacted report. Trump’s team has had weeks to work on refining its message, while the rest of the nation was held in the dark. In essence, Barr has provided the White House with the information he still refuses to give to Congress. Though it’s unclear to what extent the redacted report will make a case for the removal of Trump, the way in which Barr has handled the report makes a compelling and irrefutable case for the removal of the attorney general. At every stage, Barr has acted to hide information from both Congress and the public, provide information to Trump’s legal team, and act as a propaganda agent rather than a law officer. The only press conference from Barr that should be acceptable is one at which he announces his resignation. Read more