Donald Trump and William Barr are spiraling out of control
“President” Donald Trump and his Attorney General William “Fu” Barr are both insisting that the Trump campaign was spied upon by the federal government, and Barr has appointed a United States Attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if the surveillance of the Trump campaign was “lawful and appropriate.” Barr on Friday is talking about changes to Department of Justice rules.
What is terrifying and chilling is that Barr’s intended beneficiary of all of this action is Trump, who tweeted this morning: “My Campaign for President was conclusively spied on. Nothing like this has ever happened in American Politics. A really bad situation. TREASON means long jail sentences, and this was TREASON!”
Mimi Rocah, a former federal prosecutor and pretty rational and very smart person, tweeted her reaction to this. She noted:
“First I was outraged at these kinds of tweets-how could a POTUS talk like this? After a while, I rolled my eyes & shrugged them off as meaningless & repetitive nonsense. Now, especially because of Barr, this gives me chills & terrifies me. Nothing seems inconceivable anymore.”
She has a right to be concerned. We all should be. We are in dangerous times, and Barr’s actions and Trump’s words suggest that someone will be punished for exposing Trump’s crimes. Every sentence in Trump’s tweet is false and a lie. But the rhetoric is dangerous, and with Barr seemingly out to protect only Trump, and damn the nation and rule of law, we are in a situation that is “FuBarr.”
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.