Attorney General William P. Barr

[BIGBULL29]

Bill Barr is completely delusional and ignorant on the "...vibrant religious life among its people" statement. Bill, America is a country founded on the ideals of the Enlightenment, which included religious liberty within the confines of the law. We are - and have never been - a theocracy (that's Saudi Arabia and Iran, remember?). You know that! Our forefathers believed strongly in the separation of church and state. I cannot believe we're still talking about this in 2020.

The GOP appeals to religion to win votes, and to keep America controlled by white males who tout Protestantism, nationalism and heterosexuality.

This is a separate issue, but your vibrant religious life, Bill, is doing nothing to make you a vibrantly happy person. Your religion has failed you miserably. Look how miserable you and Pence look - just look at yourselves! Again,your religion has failed you miserably. You two are just misery incarnate. I wish you could see things differently so you could feel better about yourself and life in general. It's really tragic.

Many conservative religious people are thoroughly unhappy, Bill. All they do is run others down, judge and gossip. It's terrible.

This religious talk since Mike Pence has been in the WH has to stop. Religion is a personal topic not to be brought into politics. You all know that! Religion has hijacked the GOP. They're all hypocrites anyways. They all act like the devil - not Jesus. Seriously. It's a dangerous clown show.

 

[keenobserver]

Bill Barr is completely delusional and ignorant on the "...vibrant religious life among its people" statement. Bill, America is a country founded on the ideals of the Enlightenment, which included religious liberty within the confines of the law. We are - and have never been - a theocracy (that's Saudi Arabia and Iran, remember?). You know that! Our forefathers believed strongly in the separation of church and state. I cannot believe we're still talking about this in 2020.

The GOP appeals to religion to win votes, and to keep America controlled by white males who tout Protestantism, nationalism and heterosexuality.

This is a separate issue, but your vibrant religious life, Bill, is doing nothing to make you a vibrantly happy person. Your religion has failed you miserably. Look how miserable you and Pence look - just look at yourselves! Again,your religion has failed you miserably. You two are just misery incarnate. I wish you could see things differently so you could feel better about yourself and life in general. It's really tragic.

Many conservative religious people are thoroughly unhappy, Bill. All they do is run others down, judge and gossip. It's terrible.

This religious talk since Mike Pence has been in the WH has to stop. Religion is a personal topic not to be brought into politics. You all know that! Religion has hijacked the GOP. They're all hypocrites anyways. They all act like the devil - not Jesus. Seriously. It's a dangerous clown show.

Good post, but I think the GOP hijacked religion - not the other way around. When Roe v. Wade was passed, Jerry Falwell - the father, not the son, was all in on it. He publicly praised it - until he saw the Roman Catholic opposition to it, and that it galvanized their believers. It was all about money and numbers. At that time Liberty Road Baptist Church was an average congregation expanding into local tv broadcasts on Sundays, and it took off from there, Falwell and his ilk found that having a lot of viewers sending money also could be mobilized for votes. And here we are.

 

[BIGBULL29]

Good post, but I think the GOP hijacked religion - not the other way around. When Roe v. Wade was passed, Jerry Falwell - the father, not the son, was all in on it. He publicly praised it - until he saw the Roman Catholic opposition to it, and that it galvanized their believers. It was all about money and numbers. At that time Liberty Road Baptist Church was an average congregation expanding into local tv broadcasts on Sundays, and it took off from there, Falwell and his ilk found that having a lot of viewers sending money also could be mobilized for votes. And here we are.

You are right: I had it backwards. Lol.

Evangelicals did not care about abortion until they realized that "faux Christian" Catholics were hellbent on criminalizing abortion. Falwell knew that if he created an alliance with Catholics, he could get a "Moral Majority" coalition and use religion to gain power in government. And he greatly succeeded. Sadly, many Evangelicals do not even consider Catholics as real Christians.

Catholics were a means to an end, and so were women's bodies. It is all a crying shame. The horrors of religion at times. Puts chills down my spine.

 

[Freddie53]

Bill Barr is completely delusional and ignorant on the "...vibrant religious life among its people" statement. Bill, America is a country founded on the ideals of the Enlightenment, which included religious liberty within the confines of the law. We are - and have never been - a theocracy (that's Saudi Arabia and Iran, remember?). You know that! Our forefathers believed strongly in the separation of church and state. I cannot believe we're still talking about this in 2020.

The GOP appeals to religion to win votes, and to keep America controlled by white males who tout Protestantism, nationalism and heterosexuality.

This is a separate issue, but your vibrant religious life, Bill, is doing nothing to make you a vibrantly happy person. Your religion has failed you miserably. Look how miserable you and Pence look - just look at yourselves! Again,your religion has failed you miserably. You two are just misery incarnate. I wish you could see things differently so you could feel better about yourself and life in general. It's really tragic.

Many conservative religious people are thoroughly unhappy, Bill. All they do is run others down, judge and gossip. It's terrible.

This religious talk since Mike Pence has been in the WH has to stop. Religion is a personal topic not to be brought into politics. You all know that! Religion has hijacked the GOP. They're all hypocrites anyways. They all act like the devil - not Jesus. Seriously. It's a dangerous clown show.

I agree with every word you werote. There is a clarification that needs to be made.

The US Constitution establishes the Ameriocan Republic as a seculawr state.

Where history gets distorted iis going back to early colonial days before the US became a republic. There was religious persecution in the Bay Colony that is now Massachusets. There were some in the new nation that wanted their own state to declare a ;legal basis for a pawrticular church to become the wtqt4 church for a p[articuoar state.

When all was said and done the ten amendments of the US Constitution were written as some states would not ratify the US Constitution without the amendments.

Some right wing Christian zealots are using slight of hand. They gather all this information that was true in the 1600s before the us became independent in 1776 to make it appear that what they are saying about Amerian history was true under the ud Constitution and its amendments.

The reason I am pointing this out is that the only way to defeat these right wing zealots is to qualify that it was the Puritans in the early 1600s, not the US that had a state religion. The state religion ceased to exist in Massachusets some time before the US became a nation. The church of the Puritans, the Congregatinal Church had a major split and many Congregationalists became Uniterian; Several of American Revolutionarary people were Unitarians.

When all was said and done, there were no state churches in the newly independent states. The First Amendment declared the US to be a secular nqtion officially. People were then as they are now free to be a member of any church they chose.

Using the Massahusts Bay Colony's religious practices in the early part of the 17th century and then declaring this to also be true in 1776 - 1789 is false. Nothing could be farther from the truth!

 

[Industrialsize]

 

[BIGBULL29]

Our forefathers were not religious people - not the majority of them, I believe. Some were deists, or even atheists.

The Religious Right in America has a very skewed picture of the history of Christianity in the America. Their preachers and pastors lie to them, as well as more educated conservatives, all telling them that America was founded on Protestant Christianity ideals, or simply the vaguely "Christian ethic."

By the way, I never knew Bill Barr was a religious fanatic until recently. I just thought he was a highly corrupt GOP politician without a religious agenda.

Barry Goldwater warned the GOP of the dangers of letting religion seep into the party.

 

[b.c.]

Colin Powell ally calls on House to begin ‘immediate’ impeachment hearings on Bill Barr – Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/co...-immediate-impeachment-hearings-on-bill-barr/
Bill Barr Intervened to Overrule Federal Prosecutor Who Said D.C. Police Arrested Protesters Without Any Evidence of Wrongdoing
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crim...-wrongdoing/ar-BB19sbRD?li=BBnbcA1&srcref=rss
Bill Barr stunt was an ‘in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign’ by DOJ: election law expert – Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/bi...he-trump-campaign-by-doj-election-law-expert/
Serving US attorney says Bill Barr ‘brought shame’ on his office in searing letter | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ney-serving-james-herbert-letter-b608652.html
Assistant U.S. Attorney Says William Barr 'Dishonors' Justice Department | HuffPost
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/assi...justice-department_n_5f6f8062c5b64deddeee9dc5

 

[dreamer20]

Part 1

Unethical Bill Barr violated DOJ rules with his attempt to swing the upcoming election in Trump's favor and fuel Trump's anti-voting by mail false narrative - as follows: Excerpt

The Justice Department released a 'bizarre' statement saying it's investigating 'potential issues with mail-in ballots' in Pennsylvania, and no one knows what it means

The Department of Justice released two statements, on Sept. 24, 2020 , announcing an investigation into "potential issues with mail-in ballots" in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The first statement said a "small number of military ballots were discarded," investigators had "recovered nine ballots at this time," and "all nine ballots were cast for presidential candidate Donald Trump."
That statement was deleted from the DOJ's website, and a revised statement that was released shortly afterward said seven of the nine ballots were cast for Trump and that it was unknown whom the remaining two were cast for.

Both statements set off alarm bells with election experts and DOJ veterans who said they likely violated the department's policy ( *see post # 109) and appeared to be politically motivated in light of Trump's baseless attacks on voting by mail.
It was unclear whether the ballots the statement said were "discarded" were cast as part of the primary or general election, and experts said it was also highly unusual for the statement to disclose whom voters cast their ballots for.

Glenn Kirschner Comments: "This incident shows that Donald Trump and Bill Barr are trying to rig the election":

 

[dreamer20]

Part 2

Bill Barr is well aware that DOJ policy dictates that this agency is supposed to be apolitial. Therefore Bill Barr decided he would blatantly change this policy in order to use his office to aid the Trump re-elction campaign: Excerpt:

vhttps://www.businessinsider.com/trump-doj-changes-longstanding-policy-against-election-interference-2020-10

The Department of Justice made a significant change to a longstanding policy against election interference this week, ProPublica reported.The change would allow prosecutors who suspect election-related offenses to take public investigative steps, even if those steps alter the outcome of the election. In an email Friday, an official in the DOJ's Public Integrity Section specifically highlighted that the exception applied to "misconduct by federal officials or employees administering an aspect of the voting process through the United States Postal Service, the Department of Defense or any other federal department or agency."

The decision to single out USPS employees and military members is noteworthy, given that the president has repeatedly suggested, without evidence, that the two groups could be involved in election fraud. The DOJ's decision could also put it on a collision course with the FBI and US intelligence community, whose leaders released a video this week countering Trump's claims and reassuring voters of the integrity of the election.

Glen Kirschner Comments:

 

[chicagosam]

Like Trump, Barr has a desperate need to stay in power. If removed, the enormity of his crimes against the United States, like Trump, will not be dealt with kindly. It brings to mind the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin upon reflecting on the danger faced when signing the Declaration of Independence: “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.“. In the future, Trump and Barr (along with McConnell) will be amongst the most scorned and vituperated politicians in American history. Hopefully, they will finally experience the American justice they deserve.

 

[dreamer20]

AG Barr has continued to abuse his authority and aid Trump with his political schemes and legal issues.
Fortunately Barr falied in this effort:

Federal judge rebuffs Justice Department's bid to aid Trump in defamation case
Oct. 27, 2020 Excerpt:

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected the government’s motion to essentially step into Trump’s shoes as the defendant in the suit, brought by E. Jean Carroll. Kaplan said the actions that precipitated the suit—Trump’s recent denials of Carroll’s rape claims from the 1990s—were not related to Trump’s job as president and did not amount to official business. He also said the president was not covered by the law the Justice Department wielded to jump into the case.

Allowing the government to assume the role of defendant in the suit likely would have doomed Carroll’s case, since the law does not allow libel claims against federal officials acting in their official capacity.

Hopefully Trump will not be reelected and he and Barr will both demit office in Jan. 2021 - or sooner.

Retiring Federal Prosecutor Goes Public With Harsh Criticism Of AG William Barr

Quote: Former Prosecutor: Phillip Halpern

" If Bill Barr is put in charge of the Justice Department and Donald Trump of this country for another four years, I think our democracy is at risk. I think this country could slip into tyranny. It would be a disaster. This is a scary time. We can’t have a puppet attorney general. We can’t have a demonized press. We can’t have immigrants who are made to feel like scapegoats. A president who asks for his political opponents to be indicted and jailed is a dictator. This is reprehensible. People can’t lose track of this. Donald Trump does so many things that are outlandish, that people simply say, "It’s just Donald being Donald." No democracy can have the president ask for the jailing of his political opponents. If we do, we’re gonna be more like Russia or Turkey than we’re going to be like the United States."

 

[ActionBuddy]

From November 1st, 2020

William Barr: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

A/B

 

[b.c.]

HOPEFULLY Bill Barr will wind up behind them. He and the other Trump fascists and grifters who've lied, conspired, and have been ACCESSORIES to Trump's crimes as well as that of their OWN.

Exclusive: U.S. investigators were told to take 'no further action' on Caterpillar, ex-client of Barr | Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Before William Barr became Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Department of Justice, he represented Caterpillar Inc, a Fortune 100 company, in a federal criminal investigation by the department.

Much was at stake for Caterpillar: Since 2018, the Internal Revenue Service has been demanding $2.3 billion in payments from the company in connection with the tax matters under criminal investigation. The company has contested that finding.

A week after Barr was nominated for the job of attorney general, Justice officials in Washington told the investigative team in the active criminal probe of Caterpillar to take “no further action” in the case, according to an email written by one of the agents and reviewed by Reuters.

The decision, the email said, came from the Justice Department’s Tax Division and the office of the deputy attorney general, who was then Rod Rosenstein.

“I was instructed on December 13, 2018,” wrote the agent, Jason LeBeau, “that the Tax Division and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General jointly came to the decision that no further action was to be taken on the matter until further notice.” LeBeau, an inspector general agent at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, declined interview requests from Reuters.

Reuters was unable to determine why Justice issued the “no further action” directive. It was not issued by Barr, as it came before he was confirmed. A Justice Department spokesperson said Barr recused himself from any Caterpillar discussions once he became attorney general, but declined further comment. Barr, in testimony during his confirmation hearings, said rules of legal privilege precluded him from discussing his work for the company.

Potential conflicts of interest, whether real or apparent, often arise when high-powered lawyers switch between private practice and government service. Bruce A. Green, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at Fordham Law School, said it is not unheard of for attorney generals to have clients who had business before the DOJ. He noted that in 2009, President Barack Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, recused himself from a case involving Swiss Bank UBS, a prior client.

But Green said he could not recall a case where agents were told to take no further action on a matter involving an incoming attorney general’s former client without some kind of explanation. “Why would you just stop?” he asked.
​

 

[chrisrobin]

WAS HE PUSHED?
So Bill Barr "resigned" - or did he, maybe he could see the writing on the wall and thought for a few days peace lets get out before I get sacked - or maybe Trump made it worth his while to go to avoid more blood on the carpet of from presidential dismissals.
Now he can spend Christmas and all the time till the 20 January without having to suffer the slings and arrows from a disgruntled president.
Alas even this distancing wont be enough for history to paint him as other than a corrupt political and totally dishonest leader of the DOJ, a department to uphold the law and order in the USA debased by his actions at the request of the president - from whom he should have been distanced but instead became a lackey.
Barr distinguished himself my totally aligning himself with his leader's wishes thus putting the entire judicial system of the USA under the the control of a despot.
He wont be missed, he will be remembered, however it doesnt mean that the next toady Trump appointments will be any better.
History has a way of repeating itself

 

[gr8gatsby]

WAS HE PUSHED?
So Bill Barr "resigned" - or did he, maybe he could see the writing on the wall and thought for a few days peace lets get out before I get sacked - or maybe Trump made it worth his while to go to avoid more blood on the carpet of from presidential dismissals.
Now he can spend Christmas and all the time till the 20 January without having to suffer the slings and arrows from a disgruntled president.
Alas even this distancing wont be enough for history to paint him as other than a corrupt political and totally dishonest leader of the DOJ, a department to uphold the law and order in the USA debased by his actions at the request of the president - from whom he should have been distanced but instead became a lackey.
Barr distinguished himself my totally aligning himself with his leader's wishes thus putting the entire judicial system of the USA under the the control of a despot.
He wont be missed, he will be remembered, however it doesnt mean that the next toady Trump appointments will be any better.
History has a way of repeating itself

He was fired, or pushed out. Trump's people wrote the letter.

 

[DiamondJoe]

WAS HE PUSHED?
So Bill Barr "resigned" - or did he, maybe he could see the writing on the wall and thought for a few days peace lets get out before I get sacked - or maybe Trump made it worth his while to go to avoid more blood on the carpet of from presidential dismissals.
Now he can spend Christmas and all the time till the 20 January without having to suffer the slings and arrows from a disgruntled president.
Alas even this distancing wont be enough for history to paint him as other than a corrupt political and totally dishonest leader of the DOJ, a department to uphold the law and order in the USA debased by his actions at the request of the president - from whom he should have been distanced but instead became a lackey.
Barr distinguished himself my totally aligning himself with his leader's wishes thus putting the entire judicial system of the USA under the the control of a despot.
He wont be missed, he will be remembered, however it doesnt mean that the next toady Trump appointments will be any better.
History has a way of repeating itself

* History does not repeat itself. It does occasionally rhyme.

Well known fact.

 

[chrisrobin]

* History does not repeat itself. It does occasionally rhyme.

Well known fact.

Maybe I should have said that if you loom at history what goes round comes round

 

[DiamondJoe]

Maybe I should have said that if you loom at history what goes round comes round

I'm not sure how that happens?

Can you give me an example or two?

 

[Klingsor]

I'm not sure how that happens?

Can you give me an example or two?

It happens in Congress. The filibuster. The "nuclear option."

 

[DiamondJoe]

It happens in Congress. The filibuster. The "nuclear option."

I thought a first strike capacity was the "nuclear option", otherwise why spend all that money on nice, shiny weapons of mass destruction?