Reactions To AG Barr's "Principal Conclusions" Whitewash (UPDATED)

Here's the whitewash letter (pdf) Trump's hand-picked Attorney General William "Dis" Barr sent to Congress today providing his "principal conclusions" from the Mueller report.  Here are some reactions:

Marcy Wheeler

Attorney General William Barr just engaged in utterly cowardly dereliction of duty. [snip]

Here’s the thing, though: at least given what they lay out here, they only considered whether Trump was covering up his involvement in the hack-and-leak operation. It doesn’t consider whether Trump was covering up a quid pro quo, which is what there is abundant evidence of.

They didn’t consider whether Trump obstructed the crime that he appears to have obstructed. They considered whether he obstructed a different crime. And having considered whether Trump obstructed the crime he didn’t commit, rather than considering whether he obstructed the crime he did commit, they decided not to charge him with a crime.

Neal Katyal

“I hate saying that, but I have to say, given what Barr found on obstruction of justice, I think all of us should be very concerned even-handedness of the way this investigation was treated,” Katyal added.

“I think there is reason to be very concerned, given what he wrote here — that you have a two-year investigation and Mueller doesn’t make the final determination — says there’s evidence on both sides — and then you have Barr swoop in and within 48 hours make a decision,” he continued. “There is something deeply troubling about that, and it’s the same troubling thing identified during the Barr hearings, which is he wrote this kooky 19-page memo which said, effectively, presidents can’t obstruct justice.

“I’m worried that this is part of that ludicrous legal view. I don’t know what Barr’s ultimate decisions were here because he doesn’t tell us and that’s the point.

“The American public needs to know — Congress needs to know — how exactly did he conclude there was no obstruction of justice and if it’s really about the lack of intent on the part of Trump, how the heck could he know that when he didn’t even try and interview Trump?” Katyal concluded.

Rep. Jerry Nadler

“The Special Counsel states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.’”

— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019

In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future.

— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019

Barbara McQuade

Odd that (1) #Mueller would reach no conclusion on obstruction and (2) AG would decide the issue for him. This defeats the whole purpose of a special counsel, which is to avoid conflicts of interest by those in the executive branch chain of command.

— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) March 24, 2019

Vladimir Putin



Reporters from CNN and the New York Times confirm that Mueller was not consulted in the Barr letter.

Context as you read: am told Special Counsel Robert Mueller was not consulted on this letter. This was the product of the Attorney General Bill Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, per DOJ official.

— Laura Jarrett (@LauraAJarrett) March 24, 2019

Per a DOJ official: #Mueller was not consulted in the creation of this letter to Congress, nor was he at the department today. It was the product of Barr, Rosenstein and advisors including from the office of legal counsel.

— Katie Benner (@ktbenner) March 24, 2019

Looks like Trump found the right guy to try to bury the Mueller report after all.

We need to see the full report, then have Mueller testify under oath to Congress about his (not Barr's) findings.

UPDATE:  Barr has a significant history of covering up wrongdoing by other Republican administrations.  He was/ is a regular one man clean- up crew.

Across The Universe, Cont. -- 200 Billion Luminous Stars

(click on image to enlarge)



From NASA/ ESA, March 18, 2019:  This fuzzy orb of light is a giant elliptical galaxy filled with an incredible 200 billion stars. Unlike spiral galaxies, which have a well-defined structure and boast picturesque spiral arms, elliptical galaxies appear fairly smooth and featureless. This is likely why this galaxy, named Messier 49, was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1771. At a distance of 56 million light-years, and measuring 157 000 light-years across, M49 was the first member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies to be discovered, and it is more luminous than any other galaxy at its distance or nearer.

Elliptical galaxies tend to contain a larger portion of older stars than spiral galaxies and also lack young blue stars. Messier 49 itself is very yellow, which indicates that the stars within it are mostly older and redder than the Sun. In fact, the last major episode of star formation was about six billion years ago — before the Sun was even born!

Messier 49 is also rich in globular clusters; it hosts about 6000, a number that dwarfs the 150 found in and around the Milky Way. On average, these clusters are 10 billion years old. Messier 49 is also known to host a supermassive black hole at its centre with the mass of more than 500 million Suns, identifiable by the X-rays pouring out from the heart of the galaxy (as this Hubble image comprises infrared observations, these X-rays are not visible here).

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Blakenslee, P Cote et al.

"Exit Brexit" March Draws A Million To London

This weekend's march on London to demand that the UK remain in the European Union (EU) drew upwards of one million people. Many of the marchers carried signs demanding a new vote on the UK's ill-considered move to exit the EU. The British government under Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May has failed to reach an agreement with the EU on an exit plan, and successive votes in Parliament to pass the Prime Minister's plan have failed. Last week, the EU agreed to extend the time limit for the UK to leave the EU by May 22  if May can secure Parliament's approval by next week; if not, the extension would only be until April 12.

The Brexit catastrophe was brought on originally by a far-right political party, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), noted for its extreme nationalism and anti-immigration positions.

(photos: Top two photos, Associated Press, bottom photo Reuters)

Preventing A 2020 "Existential Crisis"

As the field of Dem contenders for the nomination expands weekly, and as Dems are challenged every day to comment on phony issues injected into the Beltway media by Rethuglicans ("are you capitalist or socialist"), Ed Kilgore, writing in nymag.com's "Intelligencer," lays out an absolutely chilling scenario should Dems blow the 2020 election. Excerpts:

"The Trump-McConnell strategy is designed to pack the courts quickly, in case Democrats come back into power in 2020. But if Trump gets a second term, and particularly if Republicans hold the Senate (which is very likely in any scenario in which Trump wins), prospects increase that this president will cast a very, very long shadow over the judiciary for decades to come. [snip] 

If Republicans get a second chance at a trifecta after losing it in 2018, there is no question we’d see a second effort to deconstruct the social safety net via legislation fundamentally changing Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, and anti-poverty programs...[snip] 

On climate change alone, it’s painful to contemplate the national and global consequences of another four years of official science denial and celebration of fossil fuels. Those consequences include the death of prospects for bipartisan action, even on compromise and relatively conservative proposals for emissions reductions and a greener economy."

That's just a taste of the crisis that would be created by a second term of corrupt demagogue and bigot Donald "Rump" Trump. Although Kilgore doesn't discuss it, there have been murmurs that Rump wants to set up his son, greasy Junior, and his lusted-after daughter Ivanka as a political dynasty to succeed him. Skeptical? Who thought in 2015 that a dangerous buffoon like Rump would be elected to our highest office?

Kilgore concludes with a warning to Dems and progressives:

"All in all, Democrats should approach 2020 with the mind-set that this is an election with such high substantive and political stakes that history will never forgive them for blowing it. That obviously means they should exercise care in choosing a presidential nominee. But it also means they should take especial care not to damage her or him in the process, or withhold support from the nominee over grudges carried over from the nominating contest. [snip]

"A second Trump win would not only threaten progressive policy priorities for a long, long time, but would likely tear the Democratic coalition apart. For those left of center, 2020 is an emergency, and those activists or observers who would increase the risk of a second Trump term to promote candidate or factional interests ought to attract a lot of pushback. A 2021 with Trump in charge is a progressive hellscape. Avoiding it is really important."  (our emphasis)

We would vote for a pail of warm dog poop over Rump, but the Dems need to select a candidate for voters who wouldn't, and then unite behind her or him. REALLY unite.

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)


(Tom Toles, Washington Post)


(Steve Breen, San Diego Union-Tribune)


(Marty Two Bulls, m2bulls.com)

Tweet Of The Day

Sound on and watch carefully!

I'm absolutely crying at this. Sound on. pic.twitter.com/BibRtM10sc

— Clee (@jmsclee) March 20, 2019

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star Tribune)


(Kevin Siers, The Charlotte Observer)


(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)


(Darrin Bell, Washington Post Writers Group)


(Jeff Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)


(Ken Catalino, gocomics.com)

Poll: Americans Want Stricter Gun Laws

In an Associated Press-NORC poll conducted before and after the New Zealand massacre on March 15, a wide majority of Americans support making U.S. gun laws stricter: by a margin of 67% supporting stricter laws to 22% saying leave the laws as they are, and 10% saying the laws should be less strict. The poll also showed some 60% supporting a ban on AR-15 style semiautomatic assault weapons, with 80% of Dems favoring a ban, versus 40% of Rethuglicans.

There was some broad bipartisan agreement on a couple of issues: universal background checks and giving courts power to prevent people from buying guns if they are a danger to themselves or others. The support for stricter gun laws has remained steady at 67% from last year at this time, one month after the murder of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL; prior to that, support for stricter laws was 61%.

In contrast to the U.S., New Zealand acted swiftly to ban assault-style weapons and extended magazines after the mosque shootings by an anti-immigration white supremacist loon. In connection with the ban, the government is initiating a gun buy-back program to compensate the current owners of banned weapons.

(photo: Squirrel huntin', 'Merican style)

Kimmel Skewers Narcissist-In-Chief

As we wait for more information on the content of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, we're still stuck with a mentally unstable incompetent demagogue in the Oval Office. Last night, Jimmy Kimmel went through the list of symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, helpfully provided by George Conway last week, and matches them with the Narcissist-In Chief.

The Mueller Report: Chapter One Of A Tome

We think the best advice right now on the Mueller report is to take a deep breath and wait, because we know virtually nothing about its conclusions and (more importantly) its "comprehensive" investigatory materials.

Marshall Cohen at CNN has a pretty fair list of questions/ analyses surrounding the report that we recommend reading.  Here are Cohen's questions, minus his analysis:

Was there a conspiracy to collude?

Why didn't Mueller interview Trump in person?

What will the public see of Mueller's report?

Were there even more contacts with Russians?

Did Trump or anyone else obstruct justice?

Are there more big lies that will be exposed?

Was Trump deemed a counterintelligence threat?

How much of the (Steele) dossier could Mueller confirm?

What did Mueller find when he crossed Trump's "red line"?

Will Mueller knock down left-wing conspiracies? *

How many related investigations are still active?


That final question goes beyond the investigations we already know about being conducted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the Manhattan DA's office and the State of New York's Attorney General.  During the course of his limited- charter look at Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Mueller also is thought to have spun off evidence of potential crimes or kompromat to other jurisdictions within the Justice Department.  Of course, then there are the investigations that Congress is undertaking on a breadth of misdeeds by this corrupt regime.

The Mueller report is the first chapter of what is likely to be a tome.

BONUS:  As Booman says,  it's not about the absence of indictments coming with the Mueller report. It's about seeing the underlying evidence -- the full counterintelligence report -- that Congressional Dems are demanding.
_____________

* He needed to slip this in for "balance" no doubt.

Pic Of The Day: The Schmuck Tail

Narcissistic demagogue and man in need of a beautician Donald "Rump" Trump left the White (Supremacist) House, apparently pissed at a Fux reporter, and was captured walking away. Check out the hilarious comments about his new reverse Flock of Seagulls "do."

Nice to know that, like the case of the toilet paper on his shoe, the staffers that are supposed to be looking out for him have a sense of the ridiculous.

BREAKING: Mueller Report Sent To Attorney General

What we know at this point:

ALERT: Special Counsel Mueller has submitted his report to Attorney General Barr. https://t.co/c7gGz2NGjE pic.twitter.com/s5uzYkjYq2

— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 22, 2019

Here we go:

Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday wrapped up his nearly two-year investigation into Donald Trump and Russia and sent his report to Attorney General Barr.

No details of Mueller's findings have been released, and it is not clear how soon the public will see them.

The transmission of the report to Barr concludes an investigation that has resulted in the indictments of 34 people, infuriated the president and thrown the administration into turmoil.

NBC News is also reporting that the Attorney General will provide a report summary to Congress as early as this weekend.

Here's the letter the AG has sent to Congressional committee chairs (click to enlarge, then click again):

AG William Barr's letter to Congress pic.twitter.com/UQfZQ9Wzpk

— Laura Litvan (@LauraLitvan) March 22, 2019

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Christopher Weyant, Boston Globe)


(Jeff Danziger, The Rutland Herald, VT)


(Rob Rogers, robrogers.com)


(Matt Davies, Newsday)


(Matt Wuerker, Politico)

Chinese Pull Out After Spa Scandal Erupts

With the exposure of Chinese massage parlor owner and Trump access peddler Li "Cindy" Yang's operation, the Chinese government front group linked to Yang that tried to exert influence on Rethuglican politicians -- including corrupt sexual assaulter Donald "Rump" Trump -- has shut down, as Mother Jones reports:

"The Florida chapter of the Council for the Promotion of the Peaceful Reunification of China (CPPRC), part of a network of groups linked to China’s Communist Party and seen as vehicles for projecting Chinese influence in the West, abruptly dissolved last week after Mother Jones reported on Cindy Yang’s ties to the organization. [snip]

The group, founded in 2016, filed articles of dissolution on March 11, the day after Mother Jones revealed Yang’s role with the organization, one of around 70 international CPPRC chapters overseen by the United Front Work Department, a Beijing-based agency of China’s Communist Party."

Knowing Rump's and Rethuglicans' taste for illicit "rub and tug" services, the Chinese government knew exactly what "enterprise" to use as their outreach arm (insert your snark here). A thorough counterintelligence investigation of this scandal has to be initiated, especially since the Rump crew cares little if at all about security (see, Javanka et. al.) when it conflicts with grifting for their scams.

Tweets Of The Day -- On The Mueller Report Watch (UPDATED)

Don't hold your breath:

Mueller report does not seem imminent because 1 redactions in Cohen search warrants allowed for 60 more days, 2 update on Gates’s sentencing delayed 60 days, 3 pending GJ battles with Stone associate Andrew Miller and unknown co. and 4 reports that Rosenstein will stay longer.

— Barb McQuade (@BarbMcQuade) March 22, 2019

ABC's Republican mole Jonathan Karl gets his scoops from a reliab... Rudy Giuliani? (Read the embedded post!)

Dear reporters: When reporting Rudy G's claim he doesn't expect any more indictments, try this:

"The President's TV lawyer, who is currently under investigation by his former SDNY for witness tampering, says he doesn't expect any indictments."https://t.co/S4wu0lJLr9

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) March 22, 2019

When the time does come, remember to breathe and push:

Waiting for the Mueller Report is like waiting for the baby to be born. We’re in the end of the third trimester and just want it to be over. But, as every parent knows, once the baby comes - that’s when all the real work begins. 😬

— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) March 21, 2019

UPDATE:  As of 5:00 EDT today, Special Counsel Mueller has submitted his report to the Attorney General.