William Barr’s doomsday alternate reality

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Republicans will be getting their wish to waste additional taxpayer money on needless investigations. William Barr testified before Congress yesterday and shared that he is starting an investigation into the origins (as opposed to oranges) of the Mueller investigation. Barr’s reasoning is that he (emphasis on “he”) believes spying occurred during Donald Trump’s campaign and that “spying on a political campaign is a big deal,” even though Barr admits he has no evidence of such claims.

As we expected, Barr is little more than a Trump mole. Trump is, of course, elated and calls the investigation “an attempted coup.” Barr obviously fails to understand that he works for us – the American people – and not Trump. Nancy Pelosi, speaking to NPR, attempted to remind him: “William Barr, you are not Attorney General for President Trump. You are attorney general for the United States.”

Robert Mueller was appointed after Trump fired James Comey. Trump asked Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn, and when he didn’t, Trump fired him. Justice is supposed to be a separate and distinct entity from the presidency. With Barr heading the Department of Justice, those lines are being blurred. As reported by CNN, this investigation of the investigation will undoubtedly raise concerns about those blurred lines.

Even as Barr discussed his plans to investigate the beginnings of the Russia collusion investigation, James Baker, a former FBI top lawyer, spoke with Politico about his involvement in the original investigation. According to information Politico received from others in the bureau, Baker was “free of anti-Trump bias” and was very much involved in the investigation into Comey’s firing, which they believed to be “at the behest of” the Russian government. That launched the investigation, not some alleged spying on the Trump campaign.

Testifying before two Republican-led committees in October 2018, Baker said that the entire FBI had growing concerns over Comey’s firing, especially after Trump declared on air that he fired Comey because of “the Russia thing,” not to mention his meeting with senior Russian officials shortly thereafter, where he basically trashed Comey to those officials. For someone who demands loyalty, Trump certainly has none to give.

Trying to protect this country from outside influences in our elections is not “spying.” Barr needs to learn which side his bread is buttered on. The American people pay his salary, not Trump. His loyalties must and should lie with the American people. To do otherwise does a disservice not only to the country but to the position he holds. Baker said that many in the Justice Department raised concerns about Trump’s obstruction. Why is it that Barr can come in, two years after the fact, and declare that nothing happened? The answer seems relatively clear. Perhaps that’s what Barr meant about his “transparency.”

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