A great (and long overdue) story about Barr’s tenure in the Justice Department. It starts out with him expressing to his aides how difficult it must be for Mike Pompeo having been thrust into politics during the impeachment. Apparently, Barr is very short on self-awareness, which isn’t surprising.
Anyway, here’s an excerpt:
After a year on the job, Barr’s strategy of cultivating a close relationship with Trump has worn thin among many rank and file Justice Department employees, and given rise to suspicions that the attorney general has put the President’s political interests above those of the department, according to multiple DOJ officials.
Last week, that problem sprung to life in stunning fashion. Barr’s decision to overrule the sentencing recommendation from four career federal prosecutors in the Roger Stone case, and their subsequent resignation from the case, led to a rare public display of internal discord from the Justice Department that dominated the news cycle for days.
It’s not unusual for top Justice officials to overrule career lawyers in sentencing decisions, but the department’s move to publicly disavow the prosecutors — via an unnamed Justice official who told Fox News and other news media before the attorneys were even notified — was a sharp rebuke that offended career employees who worry Barr is under undue political influence from the President .
The public disunity was again on display Thursday at Stone’s sentencing hearing, when prosecutor John Crabb Jr., the prosecutor left to handle the case, appeared to buck his bosses and sided with his colleagues’ original, stiff sentencing request.
A Justice Department official said Barr felt vindicated after Stone was ordered to prison for just over three years — in line with what the attorney general had been telling associates would be fair, and far less than what prosecutors had originally requested.
He really is a Trumpie. If he had just STFU, the judge would have reached the decision without his turning the DOJ upside down. But he wanted to show Trump he was a good boy which is really what that whole thing was all about.
But according to this article, the department has been chafing at his leadership from the beginning:
While Barr’s issues have only recently spilled into the open, the disquiet in the ranks started much earlier, officials inside the department say. Among some of the issues: a top-down management style, with the micro-managing Barr notorious for weighing in on matters usually left for less-senior officials, and a focus that broadly appears more centered on matters in Washington — and more specifically things the President cares about.
Current and former Justice officials describe an attorney general who doesn’t readily take advice and is prone to right wing conspiracies that he reads in fringe conservative sites on the Internet…
The FoxNews brainrot diagnosis has been confirmed. Not that we couldn’t see all the symptoms. But this is the first time I’ve seen actual evidence that he indulges in the wingnut fever swamp.
He’s the most powerful law enforcement person in the world. I’d really like to hear more about this.
Anyway:
After taking office last February, Barr quickly became a Trump favorite. His success in steering the President through the end of the Mueller investigation– and his public comments that minimized the findings damaging to the president — solidified Barr’s standing. The President respects and feels comfortable around Barr, current and former Justice and White House senior officials who have observed their relationship.
Of course. They are both conspiracy nuts.
Despite the rumors that he was threatening to quit, apparently he and Trump are solid and he assured the troops he isn’t going anywhere. Surprise. But the department is still restive, worried particularly about the fallout from the interference in the Stone case which went against DOJ policy.
Democrats have long accused Barr of taking instructions from Trump. But Barr’s allies described a reverse dynamic— Barr was one of the adults in the administration, one of the few people who could deftly manage the mercurial president, they said.
One such episode occurred at an Oval Office meeting in recent months. Trump along with top immigration and Justice officials had gathered to discuss whether to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. Barr took other officials in the meeting by surprise when he aligned himself with Trump, despite other officials warning it would create diplomatic problems with Mexico.
Even inside Justice, senior officials had told Barr such a move was not only impractical but would likely backfire on the border, according to people familiar with the discussions. One source reacted with astonishment, saying “Barr knew better,” adding “I remember thinking he can’t possibly agree with that” but noted he never said it publicly.
The source also thought it seemed Barr simply was placating Trump in a room where others appeared to be ganging up on the President, knowing the issue would likely die.
After flying to the Mexican capital in December to meet with top leaders there on the issue, Barr briefed Trump back in Washington. The terrorist designation didn’t occur.
I see. Barr is actually running the country and manipulating Trump? Considering what Trump does every single day, I don’t think that actually reflects well on Barr, despite this one episode.
We’ve heard all that before. Reports that staff have ignored Trump or manipulated him into doing the right thing is not uncommon. If that’s how our country is being run under this barbaric imbecile, it’s not something to brag about.
The likes of Barr and Pompeo and most of the congress seem to be on Trump’s page anyway.
While Barr has cultivated a reputation for being overly focused on Washington, his absence isn’t universally seen as a bad thing. One senior Justice official says that in many districts, avoiding attention from Washington is welcome. There is however one time a year every summer when top prosecutors descend on Washington for the annual US attorney conference.
It’s usually a bond-building exercise, where top prosecutors get to rub elbows with their bosses. Attorneys general usually have a closed-door meeting with top prosecutors from around the country, giving them a chance to talk about issues they are facing.
But last year, they didn’t get such a gathering with Barr, and several complained about the lack of attention.
Instead, the Barr gathering last June, the only event at which all the US attorneys met with him, included the media. And it became a spectacle, when Barr entered from behind a curtain wearing a kilt and playing bagpipes.
He’s a Trumpie through and through.