Just how much damage has William Barr done?
The Mueller report is now in the public view. Even considering the redactions, the information about “President” Trump is damning. It further confirms everything we have thought of this “president” to date: He’s a liar, a cheat, and a traitor. He will use any means necessary to get what he wants, including accepting help from America’s long-standing enemy, Russia. More telling, however, is William Barr. He has willingly and knowingly sacrificed all of his accomplishments for one man — a man who will never return the favor. He stood before the American people and blatantly lied by taking sentences out of context and saying things about the report that have proven untrue. Barr’s deception is clearly delineated in Renato Mariotti’s new piece in Politico.
Mariotti is a former federal prosecutor, which puts him a unique position to explain the full ramifications of the Mueller report as well as Barr’s deceptions. Mariotti confirms that Barr intentionally misled the American people by whitewashing the report in his four-page “summary.” Mariotti sees no gray areas in Mueller’s report. “I see a case meticulously laid out by a prosecutor who knew he was not allowed to bring it.” Even though Mueller’s report shows clear, uncontroverted evidence of Trump’s abuse of power, Mariotti acknowledges that the DOJ policy of not indicting a sitting president guided Mueller’s report. Based on his review, Mariotti does not believe he could convince a jury that any reasonable doubt exists in this case, which means Trump would have been convicted, which in turn explains how serious these allegations are regardless of how Trump and the other republicans try to downplay them.
Most of Barr’s fabrications involve taking information out to imply that Trump had been exonerated. For example, he included in his summary “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” The full sentence as written by Mueller has an entirely different meaning than what is implied in Barr’s summary: “Although the investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts, the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” The complete statement implies guilt while Barr’s out of context segment suggests innocence. Did Barr think the full report would never come out or did he merely think no one would ever read it? Jason Sattler of USA Today banks on the latter and points out that Mueller is counting on Congress to take the reins. “Checks and balances,” writes Sattler. “Remember those? They come from something else Barr expects you to never read: The Constitution.”
This is merely one instance of Barr’s malicious attempts to deceive the American public. We must ask who these people serve, as it obviously is not us. Of all people, Mitt Romney said it best to CNN: “Reading the report is a sobering revelation of how far we have strayed from the aspirations and principles of the founders.” Sobering indeed.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years