Adam Schiff just got Acting DNI Joseph Maguire to admit something crucial during his testimony

| 10:10 am EDT September 26, 2019
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Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire is publicly testifying before the House Intelligence Committee before we speak. Thus far he’s coming off like he means well, but he’s been in over his head for the brief time he’s had the job, and he hasn’t been sure of what to do. In any case, Adam Schiff has already gotten Maguire to admit to something crucial.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff was the first person to question Acting DNI Joseph Maguire during his testimony today. Schiff quickly zeroed in on the sequence of events that played out once Maguire received the whistleblower complaint from the Inspector General. Schiff got Maguire to admit that he went to the Department of Justice to seek advice on whether to forward the complaint to Congress, even though he knew that Attorney General Bill Barr – the head of the Department of Justice – was accused of wrongdoing in the complaint.

This means Bill Barr was given the opportunity to illegally suppress a whistleblower complaint about himself – and he seized that opportunity. Considering that Barr used his position in government to violate the law in the name of sabotaging an investigation into his own behavior, this is a textbook case of obstruction of justice.

The more legally compromised Bill Barr becomes, the more pressure there will be for him to recuse himself from Donald Trump’s Ukraine whistleblower scandal. In addition, the more clear it becomes that Barr will be indicted and arrested on serious crimes once Trump is gone, the more Barr will have to think about cutting an immunity deal against Trump while he still can. If Barr is betting his freedom on a Trump pardon, he’s making a fool’s bet.