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pnwmom

(108,980 posts)
Thu Apr 4, 2019, 09:36 PM Apr 2019

Mimi Rocha:"I was one of several alumni of the DOJ inclined to give Barr the benefit of the doubt."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/barr-looks-like-hes-trying-to-protect-trump-not-get-out-the-mueller-report

I was one of several alumni of the Department of Justice who was inclined to give Barr the benefit of the doubt. In my experience, people like Barr who have worked for decades within the DOJ understand the unique importance of its independence and integrity and the need for the public to have faith that decisions made at DOJ are based on facts, evidence, and law and not political considerations. In my experience, the pull of DOJ is to make sure people, in the words of my former boss and friend Preet Bharara, “do the right thing, in the right way for the right reasons.” And so it is with some sadness that I say, Barr did absolutely the wrong thing, in the wrong way, and one can certainly infer bad reasons in his handling so far of the special counsel's report.

SNIP

At this point, whatever Barr’s intentions—and I am no longer inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt—in order to salvage what is left if the integrity of the process, he must immediately release the Mueller-prepared summaries rand work with Congress to ensure that the whole report is turned over to Congress, and as much as legally and safely possible to the American public.

This is Barr's final chance to salvage his reputation and, more importantly, the integrity of the Justice Department he claims to hold so dear.

29 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Mimi Rocha:"I was one of several alumni of the DOJ inclined to give Barr the benefit of the doubt." (Original Post) pnwmom Apr 2019 OP
Why did she in the first place? He did the same for Daddy Bush and Iran/Contra. brush Apr 2019 #1
That same Iran/Contra thing should have disqualified him from being AG in the first place. alwaysinasnit Apr 2019 #4
But who among those MyOwnPeace Apr 2019 #9
Too true. alwaysinasnit Apr 2019 #10
I'm guessing she thought he was a by-the-book kind of person, and that kind of person pnwmom Apr 2019 #14
Yes people had to give Bobby "bullshit" Barr the benefit of the doubt. The benefit is now ova UniteFightBack Apr 2019 #2
Great post. Barre may end up indicted. Demsrule86 Apr 2019 #3
I have been trying to figure out who could bring criminal charges, if warranted, against the AG, and alwaysinasnit Apr 2019 #5
Here's a site's answer. If Barr's been confirmed, he can be impeached/indicted. ancianita Apr 2019 #13
Many Thanks! alwaysinasnit Apr 2019 #16
It needs to happen. LiberalFighter Apr 2019 #18
He is an Iran Contra ghoul. kairos12 Apr 2019 #6
Barr will forever be known as trump's stooge. Another fixer. spanone Apr 2019 #7
And THAT is happening MyOwnPeace Apr 2019 #11
That boggles my mind. BigmanPigman Apr 2019 #8
That is the problem with people Polly Hennessey Apr 2019 #12
I can see her point for giving him the benefit o the doubt ... Snake Plissken Apr 2019 #15
You have a way with the sarcasm. Excellent. alwaysinasnit Apr 2019 #17
I wouldn't give Barr the benefit of the time of day. He's a political hack. KY_EnviroGuy Apr 2019 #19
Good article. Thanks. n/t pnwmom Apr 2019 #21
+1, and a really stupid one at that ... I'm starting to think the Mueller Summaries have nothing to uponit7771 Apr 2019 #25
Has anyone heard from Cynthia Alksne? Grasswire2 Apr 2019 #20
I think the Barr they knew and the Barr that now exists are two different people. Vinca Apr 2019 #22
I agree here ScratchCat Apr 2019 #28
Yeah - I am no body, and I said/posted at the time Cosmocat Apr 2019 #23
Mimi Rocha made a big mistake FakeNoose Apr 2019 #24
"And so it is with some sadness that I say, Barr did absolutely the wrong thing, in the wrong way" FM123 Apr 2019 #26
Barr is a fraud and a sham. democratisphere Apr 2019 #27
And then there is smooth Chuck Rosenberg, who, along with Mimi expressed confidence in Ninga Apr 2019 #29

brush

(53,784 posts)
1. Why did she in the first place? He did the same for Daddy Bush and Iran/Contra.
Thu Apr 4, 2019, 09:57 PM
Apr 2019

IMO he's not to be trusted. Thank God the Mueller team members are speaking out and not letting him get away with burying a critical investigation for the second time.

pnwmom

(108,980 posts)
14. I'm guessing she thought he was a by-the-book kind of person, and that kind of person
Thu Apr 4, 2019, 11:41 PM
Apr 2019

wouldn't have sent that letter.

 

UniteFightBack

(8,231 posts)
2. Yes people had to give Bobby "bullshit" Barr the benefit of the doubt. The benefit is now ova
Thu Apr 4, 2019, 10:05 PM
Apr 2019

and doubt is fast creeping in. Days still passing looking worse and worse.

alwaysinasnit

(5,066 posts)
5. I have been trying to figure out who could bring criminal charges, if warranted, against the AG, and
Thu Apr 4, 2019, 10:57 PM
Apr 2019

in what venue. Would you happen to know?

Polly Hennessey

(6,798 posts)
12. That is the problem with people
Thu Apr 4, 2019, 11:18 PM
Apr 2019

like Mimi Rocha. Always willing to give each other the benefit of the doubt at the country’s expense. Mr. Barr’s intentions have been known for decades. Was never a fan of Ms. Rocha when she started showing up on MSNBC. Now I know why. Would rather hear Jill Wine-Banks, Joyce Vance, or Barbara McQuade.

Snake Plissken

(4,103 posts)
15. I can see her point for giving him the benefit o the doubt ...
Thu Apr 4, 2019, 11:41 PM
Apr 2019

Just as I see the federal judge who sentenced Manafort's point.

Aside from being a career criminal his entire life ... Paul Manafort has lived an otherwise blameless life.

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,492 posts)
19. I wouldn't give Barr the benefit of the time of day. He's a political hack.
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 12:44 AM
Apr 2019

Great review of his history here by those who know:

What Has Bill Barr Done to Earn the Benefit of the Doubt?
by Luppe Luppen
April 4, 2019

Link: https://www.justsecurity.org/63510/what-has-bill-barr-done-to-earn-the-benefit-of-the-doubt/
(snips)

Bill Barr’s long record, unfortunately, affords little basis for trust.

Barr has been implicated in high level cover-ups before. In Barr’s first stint as Attorney General, he recommended that President George H.W. Bush grant full pardons to six former officials from the Reagan administration who were caught up in the Iran-Contra scandal, including Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. “There were some people arguing just for Weinberger,” Barr later recounted, “and I said, ‘No, in for a penny, in for a pound.’” President Bush’s pardons brought the long-running scandal to an end just as many observers believed it was about to reach the president’s doorstep. In response, independent counsel Lawrence Walsh bitterly remarked that “the Iran-contra cover-up, which has continued for more than six years, has now been completed.”

Barr has both a body of writings that suggest he has prejudged matters under his purview as Attorney General and significant conflicts of interest. In the Spring of 2017, Barr penned an op-ed supporting the President’s firing Comey. “Comey’s removal simply has no relevance to the integrity of the Russian investigation as it moves ahead,” he wrote. In June 2017, Barr told The Hill that the obstruction investigation was “asinine” and warned that Mueller risked “taking on the look of an entirely political operation to overthrow the president.” That same month, Barr met with Trump about becoming the president’s personal defense lawyer for the Mueller investigation, before turning down the overture for that job. In late 2017, Barr wrote to the New York Times supporting the President’s call for further investigations of his past political opponent, Hillary Clinton. “I have long believed that the predicate for investigating the uranium deal, as well as the foundation, is far stronger than any basis for investigating so-called ‘collusion,’” he wrote to the New York Times’ Peter Baker, suggesting that the Uranium One conspiracy theory (which had by that time been repeatedly debunked) had more grounding than the Mueller’s investigation (which had not). Before Trump nominated him to be attorney general, Barr also notoriously wrote an unsolicited 19-page advisory memo to Rod Rosenstein criticizing the obstruction component of Mueller’s investigation as “fatally misconceived.” The memo’s criticisms proceeded from Barr’s long-held and extreme, absolutist view of executive power, and the memo’s reasoning has been skewered by an ideologically diverse group of legal observers, including Wittes.

(read more at the link above)

We need to better understand how people like Barr are ever allowed anywhere near our Government in the first place....

uponit7771

(90,347 posts)
25. +1, and a really stupid one at that ... I'm starting to think the Mueller Summaries have nothing to
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 08:25 AM
Apr 2019

... do with the Barr Summary's.

Grasswire2

(13,571 posts)
20. Has anyone heard from Cynthia Alksne?
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 12:46 AM
Apr 2019

She was adamant about her support for Barr as a good man who would do the right thing.

Haven't seen her since the sh#t has hit the fan.

Vinca

(50,276 posts)
22. I think the Barr they knew and the Barr that now exists are two different people.
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 06:48 AM
Apr 2019

For whatever reason, he seems to be one of the higher ranking cult members. The whole thing stinks of cover-up.

ScratchCat

(1,990 posts)
28. I agree here
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 10:13 AM
Apr 2019

Right now, the reason why Barr is doing what he is doing is still a complete mystery. Yes, there are theories regarding his kids, but couldn't his kids get great jobs simply based upon who their father is? I'd think so. Further, some people including I have entertained the idea he is just "protecting the GOP brand", trying to destroy the possibility of impeachment. But that is still a stretch, as he is protecting a man who doesn't give two shits about the GOP. The unsolicited letter was bizarre; how it came about would answer everything.

Cosmocat

(14,565 posts)
23. Yeah - I am no body, and I said/posted at the time
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 07:37 AM
Apr 2019

he was a proven political hack who was 100% going to do the dirt for 45 ...

The whole "he is an establishment republican, so we can trust him ..." meme was the usual media MO to slag Ds/prop up Rs because they are so horrible, a cycle we have been on since the 70s at least ...

FakeNoose

(32,644 posts)
24. Mimi Rocha made a big mistake
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 08:00 AM
Apr 2019

From the OP:

I was one of several alumni of the Department of Justice who was inclined to give Barr the benefit of the doubt. In my experience, people like Barr who have worked for decades within the DOJ understand the unique importance of its independence and integrity and the need for the public to have faith that decisions made at DOJ are based on facts, evidence, and law and not political considerations. In my experience, the pull of DOJ helps ensure that people, in the words of my former boss and friend Preet Bharara, “do the right thing, in the right way for the right reasons.” And so it is with some sadness that I say, Barr did absolutely the wrong thing, in the wrong way, and one can certainly infer bad reasons in his handling so far of the special counsel's report.


One could never equate Bill Barr with Preet Bharara, even though both men worked in the DoJ. Bharara is a man of upstanding courage and conviction, while Barr is a slimy political hack. The evidence is in their past deeds. Barr should never get the benefit of the doubt. He has already proved he doesn't deserve it.



FM123

(10,053 posts)
26. "And so it is with some sadness that I say, Barr did absolutely the wrong thing, in the wrong way"
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 08:42 AM
Apr 2019

Substitute the name Barr with any one of trumpys minions and it still rings true, it must be in their DNA to always choose wrong over right.

democratisphere

(17,235 posts)
27. Barr is a fraud and a sham.
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 09:23 AM
Apr 2019

Can't figure out why he is willing to fall on his sword for the likes of drumpf.

Ninga

(8,275 posts)
29. And then there is smooth Chuck Rosenberg, who, along with Mimi expressed confidence in
Fri Apr 5, 2019, 03:34 PM
Apr 2019

Grandpa Barr.

Has Chuck explained himself?

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