# The Bill Barr Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 2, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354 "2019-05-02T04:10:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/41 "2019-05-02T18:56:26Z")
This seems like a very objective and balanced summary of yesterday’s testimony: > **[5 takeaways from Attorney General Bill Barr’s Mueller report testimony](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/1/18525506/william-barr-mueller-report-testimony-takeaways)** > > Barr defended his handling of the investigation at a hearing where Mueller’s private remarks loomed large and partisan divisions were on display. Not calling for Barr’s head, nor defending what he did. But overall there were serious concerns about his testimony and actions he should have taken but didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/42 "2019-05-02T19:30:52Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I am ashamed to admit how naive and credulous I was when Barr was first appointed, but I’m going to do it anyway. :smack:. I read articles and heard commentary by people I at least semi-respected that said Barr is an institutionalist, he respects the norms of DOJ, he cares about his reputation, he’s close personal friends with Bob Mueller, blah blah blah. I even harbored a wishful fantasy that he had deliberately bamboozled Trump into nominating him so he could come in and reveal himself to be a crusader for truth, justice and the American way. > > Boy, was I wrong. You were far from alone. Hell, I argued strenuously for this exact same scenario in the Mueller thread. Relied on the same representations by US attorneys who had worked with him re him basically adhering to norms and being an institutionalist. What a load of bollocks. Barr is a piece of shit, same as virtually every nominee Trump has made to his administration. I used to have some faith in Christopher Wray, too, but now he’s been praised by Barr, no more. Watching the rule of law be savaged as it has been by this cabal is so painful. I struggle to get my head around the depth of the depravity. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/43 "2019-05-02T19:44:33Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Watching the rule of law be savaged as it has been by this cabal is so painful. I struggle to get my head around the depth of the depravity. I’m afraid (as the saying goes), you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The bar (barr?!) still has a long way to go down. For example, wait until the DOJ starts going after Trump’s enemy list. Wait until political opponents are jailed on spurious charges. Just wait. More to come. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/44 "2019-05-02T20:24:45Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > Mueller consistently uses the word “we.” He can’t even use his already farcical defense. Why is no one in the press pointing this out? I can just hear Barr or Fox News claim Mueller likes to use the royal ‘we’. But seriously, while I agree there’s not a lot of wriggle room in this case, the use of the singular ‘we’ is not totally unheard of, though would be quite odd indeed in this particular instance. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/45 "2019-05-02T23:43:33Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > I can just hear Barr or Fox News claim Mueller likes to use the royal ‘we’. > > But seriously, while I agree there’s not a lot of wriggle room in this case, the use of the singular ‘we’ is not totally unheard of, though would be quite odd indeed in this particular instance. I don’t know about that one but Barr referred to the decision to reserve executive privelege for McGahn by using the collective first person: “We haven’t waived privelege” ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/46 "2019-05-03T00:06:14Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > You bake a dozen cookies (to raise funds for an orphanage). You leave them to cool and go and do other things, while Bill Barr sits in the kitchen reading the Mueller report (don’t ask why). > > Returning a while later, you notice that there are less cookies than before. > > “Have you eaten one of my cookies?”, you ask Barr. > > “No, I haven’t eaten one of your cookies”, Bill Barr replies. > > You count the cookies and there are only ten. So you check the camera you have set up in your kitchen to capture evidence of paranormal activity, and it shows Bill Barr eating two cookies. > > You confront him with the video evidence.“You lied, Bill Barr! You said you didn’t eat my cookies!” > > Bar replies: “You asked me whether I’d eaten one of your cookies, but I ate two of your cookies.” > > This is how Barr misleads and avoids the spirit of a question. More like “I didn’t eat any of your cookies, once I took them - they ceased to be yours and became mine” (followed with a “I didn’t see your name on the cookies” or “once you left them, you abandoned any ownership priveleges”, etc" ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/47 "2019-05-03T00:21:50Z")
Bill Barr. Sounds like cheap cash only dive in a strip mall near an airport. I miss Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III. He was a bigoted elf, but his name was fun to say. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/48 "2019-05-03T00:44:43Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Bill Barr. Sounds like cheap cash only dive in a strip mall near an airport. If only we could trade him in for Bill Burr. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/49 "2019-05-03T00:56:31Z")
I don’t know if the Dems are going to fight back or just furrow their brows and talk about grave concerns. I do like The Hoarse Whisperer’s a[dvice](https://mobile.twitter.com/HoarseWisperer/status/1124015480874905601) > [@](#): > > Congressional Democrats: > > Subpoena every member of William Barr’s staff. > > When the first refuses to show up, cite them for contempt and have them arrested. > > This is Barr’s last career stop. Target the people who have futures to consider. > > Cut off his legs and work your way up. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/50 "2019-05-03T01:03:09Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Well this is just fucking stupid: > > Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, started eating a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken at 9 a.m. while lawmakers and the press waited to see if Barr would show up on the Hill. Cohen then left the bucket — along with a ceramic chicken — on the table where Barr would have sat. OK, I’m not familiar with him…Does Cohen always look like he’s trying and failing to hold back a laugh? He seems extremely pleased with his gag, here. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/51 "2019-05-03T01:13:14Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I am ashamed to admit how naive and credulous I was when Barr was first appointed, but I’m going to do it anyway. :smack:. I read articles and heard commentary by people I at least semi-respected that said Barr is an institutionalist, he respects the norms of DOJ, he cares about his reputation, he’s close personal friends with Bob Mueller, blah blah blah. I even harbored a wishful fantasy that he had deliberately bamboozled Trump into nominating him so he could come in and reveal himself to be a crusader for truth, justice and the American way. > > Boy, was I wrong. It’s a complete waste of effort to suck up to someone you know does not make appointment decicions based on how far up his anus your tongue is. On the other hand, if you are guaranteed to be appointed by doing so and you believe the end justifies any means, then there’s no surprise at the exquisite level of corruption in Trumpia. It’s also no surprise what happens to someone who tires of the taste of Trump dung and tries to do something right, decent, and even honorable. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Anyone who at this point is willing to accept a major post from Donald Trump has an extreme dearth of either intelligence or personal character, at a very minimum. Yeppers. Also don’t forget Tan the Conman crowed about having acting officials, meaning, of course, he could populate his admin without Congress bothering him. Anyone, anyone at all, willing or wanting to be part of that is as craven as Tan himself. Cry, the beloved country. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/52 "2019-05-03T01:15:39Z")
How could any of you guys thought that Barr was a decent choice for AG? Where were you when he was orchestrating and coordinating the cover up of the Iran Contra scandal? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/53 "2019-05-03T01:22:40Z")
I don’t know about the rest of the “you guys”, but I was holding out for Jeanine Pirro. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/54 "2019-05-03T01:33:12Z")
I was wondering why the lying sack of shit has not been charged with contempt of Congress. It turns out, according to CNN, that he might yet be, although it’s a difficult and cumbersome process. There are now actually two reasons to do it: failing to show up for the House hearing, and failing to comply with the subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report. Part of the problem is that such actions invariably involve the cooperation of the Executive Branch, the head of which at the moment is an even worse lying sack of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/55 "2019-05-03T02:19:24Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > If only we could trade him in for Bill Burr. 😃 I’d be alright with Bill Cosby. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/56 "2019-05-03T02:55:00Z")
Was Barr issued a subpoena to appear? If not, is there some legal bar to issuing a subpoena? If he did violate a subpoena, when will the House Sergeant-at-Arms attempt to arrest him? ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/57 "2019-05-03T03:24:39Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I’m afraid (as the saying goes), you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. > The bar (barr?!) still has a long way to go down. For example, wait until the DOJ starts going after Trump’s enemy list. Wait until political opponents are jailed on spurious charges. > > Just wait. More to come. Wait until we see what they do to Democratic candidates. It is already starting - [Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/politics/biden-son-ukraine.html). Not just US [investigations](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/05/02/trump-is-already-set-use-government-destroy-democratic-nominee). > [@WaPost](#): > > The Trump team’s efforts to draw attention to the Bidens’ work in Ukraine, which is already yielding coverage in conservative media, has been led partly by Rudolph W. Giuliani, who served as a lawyer for Mr. Trump in the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. Mr. Giuliani’s involvement raises questions about whether **Mr. Trump is endorsing an effort to push a foreign government to proceed with a case that could hurt a political opponent at home.** ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/58 "2019-05-03T16:43:18Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I’m afraid (as the saying goes), you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. > The bar (barr?!) still has a long way to go down. For example, wait until the DOJ starts going after Trump’s enemy list. Wait until political opponents are jailed on spurious charges. > > Just wait. More to come. Obama: “When they go low, we go high!” Republicans: “We can always go lower!” ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/59 "2019-05-03T17:37:21Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > How could any of you guys thought that Barr was a decent choice for AG? Where were you when he was orchestrating and coordinating the cover up of the Iran Contra scandal? I was a small dot in my mother’s ovaries at the time, we didn’t get a lot of news coverage in there. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354/60 "2019-05-03T17:41:30Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > …tumbrels… A parade! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bill-barr-thread/833354.md?page=4)