Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Marcy Wheeler has the goods:

Among the things Bill Barr did in his second tour as Attorney General were to:

• Make speeches arguing that progressive politics were a threat to the nation
• Spend months prioritizing the criminalization of Antifa and Black Lives Matter, even as his own department showed that right wing terrorism was a far more serious problem and the Boogaloos were deliberately attempting to launch false flag operations pinned on Antifa
• Repeatedly claim mail-in ballots were prone to fraud in defiance of the evidence, a key part of Trump’s later attempts to undermine the outcome of the election
• Treat overt threats against a judge from the Proud Boys as a technicality unworthy of a sentencing enhancement
• Continue a policy of disciplining, firing, or criminalizing Department personnel who investigated Trump and his associates
• Even at a time Barr admitted he was unfamiliar with the evidence — and persistently throughout his tenure — undermine the premise and conduct of the Russian investigation, appointing at least three US Attorneys to undermine the investigation
• Dedicate department personnel to chase conspiracy theories spun by Sidney Powell in a failed attempt to undermine a legitimate prosecution
• Not only provide Rudy Giuliani direct access to the Department, but (by all appearances) undermine criminal charges against him for influence peddling involving now-sanctioned Russian agents

In short, over an extended period, Bill Barr laid the groundwork for the two-month effort to undermine the election that culminated in a coup attempt. The outcome of Barr’s actions — the disparate treatment by the department of Trump supporters, the empowerment of right wing terrorists, the continued influence of Powell and Rudy —  was foreseeable. Nevertheless, Barr persisted with those policies that laid the groundwork for the January 6 insurrection.

And, let’s not forget the very misleading spin of the Mueller Report.