Attorney General Bill Barr’s record and not his remarks should govern how the people and the press perceive the Justice Department chief. So say experts who weighed in after the attorney general gave an interview to ABC News in which he appears to complain about President Donald Trump’s tweets.
“I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody … whether it’s Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president,” the attorney general told ABC News. “I’m gonna do what I think is right. And you know … I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.”
But government, legal, and authoritarianism experts, and some journalists are saying “don’t fall for it,” literally. Those words came from NBC News National Security Contributor Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI Assistant Director, on MSNBC.
“It all rings very hollow to me and I don’t think we can take anything the Attorney General says at face value,” former U.S. Attorney, law school professor, and MSNBC contributor Joyce Vance said on Meet the Press Daily.
Journalist Judd Legum, who founded ThinkProgress and Popular.info, warns that the A.G. should not be taken at face value, because what he really wants is plausible deniability.
What Barr is objecting to here is that the president's tweets don't give Barr PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY. So Barr is signaling to Trump to shut up so Barr can continue to rig the system for Trump's political benefit.
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 13, 2020
Former CIA officer and former White House National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price suggests Trump’s tweets make it harder for Barr to do what Trump wants:
It's the APPEARANCE of impropriety he finds so objectionable. The impropriety, on the other hand, is a feature, not a bug in his Department of Justice. https://t.co/UMU8mmMfpR
— Ned Price (@nedprice) February 13, 2020
Progressive newsletter The Daily Edge:
Why is Barr gaslighting America on @ABC News today instead of testifying under oath NOW? #DOJEmergency #Corruption https://t.co/3ls8h1kkaW
— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) February 13, 2020
Former Office of Government Ethics director:
Barr's PR nonsense is not the story. The story is your president just engaged in Ukraine-level quid pro quo extortion, but this time against one of the United States.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) February 13, 2020
IN PLAIN SIGHT ON TWITTER!
MSNBC Justice & Security Analyst, former DOJ chief spokesperson:
Don't be fooled by this one, people. Barr is telling the president that his impulsiveness is making it politically harder for him to deliver the results he wants. If Trump would just shut up, Barr could take care of him much more effectively. https://t.co/6CmHHgxy9u
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) February 13, 2020
