Sorry, Bill Barr, nice try
Palmer Report predicted that William Barr’s little speech about “president” Donald Trump’s tweets making it “impossible” for Barr to do his job is merely another attempt at snowing the American public. Other outlets are also questioning Barr’s claims. CNN suggests that “there may be more than meets the eye.” You think? This is just another stunt from the Trump White House, especially when Trump turns immediately around and tweets that he has “a legal right” to demand Barr’s intervention in federal criminal cases, as reported by Politico. This dog and pony show isn’t fooling anyone.
Perhaps to someone who hasn’t been paying attention, Barr came across as asserting his independence from the White House. The vast majority are paying attention, so he came across as disingenuous and insincere. It is highly unlikely that Barr honestly wants to show independence from the White House. He has been there to cover for Trump from the beginning. CNN speculates that Barr is protecting his reputation (not that he has much of one these days), as well as trying to stem the tide of departures from his department. Barr sticks his head in the sand even more than Trump, so it’s possible that he thinks he has some sort of reputation to protect. Unfortunately for Barr, we are far, far beyond that. He killed his reputation from the moment he entered office, from abruptly ending Robert Mueller’s investigation to whitewashing Mueller’s report.
CNN spoke to White House officials, who opined that “Trump wasn’t bothered by the comments” that Barr made. Of course he wasn’t. In fact, he went right back to tweeting about what he wanted from the Justice Department as if the interview never occurred. Keep in mind that Trump does whatever he wants, so his post-interview tweeting could simply be Trump being Trump, but don’t be fooled by these antics. While CNN contends that Barr’s interview was a “brush-back” against Trump, and some White House officials termed it a “rebuke,” this was a carefully planned publicity stunt by two men who think they’re smarter than everyone else. They’re not, and this stunt is failing by the moment.
Barr claimed in the interview that Trump has never asked him to “do anything” with respect to criminal cases, but Trump has to show his “power” by tweeting “This doesn’t mean that I do not have, as President, the legal right to do so, I do, but I have so far chosen not to!” Trump really does think he’s some type of dictator, claiming rights that do not belong to a normal president.
The media is trying to make this out to be more than it is by claiming that Trump typically lashes out at critics and that Barr’s “reputation began to outweigh his deference to a president tearing at basic judicial norms.” Nothing of the sort is happening. Barr and Trump are merely playing a “bait and switch” game that most Americans are far too savvy to accept at face value, especially with this “president.” Both men do nothing more than bring shame to the offices they hold.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years