UPDATED: Reflecting On The Trump - Barr Conflict
Quick Notice: I'm dental work done today, so I'll be in and out.
Now ...
I've been trying to fish around for some way of expressing why I tend to sympathize with Trump's tweeting over Barr's prosecutorial concerns. Riffing off a comment by Cassander , here's another try: Barr, for all his many excellent qualities, seems to lack a feel for the natural 'running out of patience' that we see among some conservatives.
In the world of politics--which Barr, also, inhabits, whether he acknowledges the fact or not--that natural 'running out of patience' is something that must be taken into account. The Big Mo that patience based in understanding can generate will ultimately work in favor of Barr's prosecutorial effort to drain the coup Swamp. Granted, Barr has thrown us a few tidbits in his interviews. His intent and the direction of the various investigations can be read from leaks of Durhams actions, but it's clearly not enough to fully satisfy some not insignificant number of Trump's staunchest supporters.
What has been going on is a coup attempt, albeit a distinctively American lawfare and institutional coup, that would utterly transform our constitutional order. There's no getting around that reality--and that means that the very existence of our constitutional republic is at stake. Because of the disguised nature of this rolling coup, the struggle against this lawfare styled coup needs to be addressed in terms that the country understands.
That's where Trump excels, and his tweeting--unconventional as it may appear in historical terms--serves that purpose very well. We don't live in an age that much appreciates nuance--twitter is perhaps a bit like a 21st century fireside chat. As the ultimate guardian of our constitutional order and of the faithful execution of law--justice--Trump has an important role to play. Barr needs to be more appreciative of that, just as much as Trump may need to be more understanding of prosecutorial realities.
What's needed is better understanding of these realities and more communication. In that give and take, Barr must be willing to learn, not just presume that Trump is the one making things 'impossible.' Barr needs to reflect on the undoubted effectiveness of Trump's mode of communication in the context of current cultural realities. He needs to be innovative in adapting the rule of law to our current situation. That doesn't mean cutting corners, but we're beyond the age of pamphlateering, of stump speeches to live audiences only, of fireside chats, of stilted debates.
Yes, Trump may yet need to tailor his own behavior somewhat, but a silent Trump, IMO, is not in the best interests of our constitutional order nor the rule of law. To remain silent in the face of these continuing coup attempts would be an abdication of his constitutional oath of office.
UPDATE: TGP has documented a Trump "tweet storm" this morning. Because of my schedule I'm going to paste in the texts or summaries of those tweets that relate most directly to the Barr - Trump conflict--or whatever it is:
President Trump went on a tweet storm Wednesday morning, firing off a comment and over a dozen retweets within an hour, mostly retweets of Congressional allies and conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch. The tweet storm follows the leaks Tuesday night to the media that Barr was considering resigning over Trump’s tweets, which he had complained about in a recent interview. A Barr spokeswoman said late Tuesday night Barr was “has no plans to resign”.
The retweets were generally supportive of Barr, with some urging stronger actions by him, but some also asserted Trump’s role of ultimate boss of the Justice Department as the President.
Trump is apparently showing that his tweets must be answered by Barr with action, not complaints and leaks to the media.
...
Trump’s first tweet proclaimed, “There must be JUSTICE. This can never happen to a President, or our Country, again!” He followed with over a dozen retweets, several of which asserted Trump’s authority over the Justice Department with one citing previous presidents in recent history who intervened in cases and gave orders to the DOJ.
Significantly, Trump retweeted Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton who called on Barr to clean house and suggested Trump appoint a special counsel, “Barr should clean house at DOJ…@realDonalldTrump (sic),was the victim of a seditious conspiracy out of DOJ/FBI, etc. President Trump can also appoint a special counsel directly.”
Trump kicked off the tweet storm keying off Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) who tweeted, “There are high expectations that the Justice Dept will very soon deliver transparency & ACCOUNTABILITY regarding DOJ/FBI officials who weaponized the awesome powers at their disposal in order to target the Trump campaign. Frustrated Americans demand justice! ⚖️ It’s LONG overdue!”
Trump said in response, “There must be JUSTICE. This can never happen to a President, or our Country, again!”
...
Trump then retweeted a several tweets by Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, including brief video clips of Fitton on Fox Business Network’s Lou Dobbs and a longer segment on the Fox News Channel.
...
“Meanwhile, Obama gang interfered in Russia election interference investigation to protect Obama’s emails while crookedly spying on @realdonaldtrump. Again the Clinton email scandal cover-up is as much about protecting Obama as it is about protecting Clinton.”
...
Breaking: @realDonaldTrump is the President. Reagan ordered halt of a criminal grand jury investigation against British Airways in 1984. George HW Bush ordered to DOJ to investigate police in wake of Rodney King rioting. Obama directed DOJ action after Eric Garner acquittal.”
Follow the link for the full flavor. I'm not agreeing with all of this. For example, to say that Barr must respond to Trump tweets with action is misguided. Barr should be allowed to act within his discretion. If Trump disagrees, then Trump needs to take action. This shouldn't descend into a Jeff Sessions situation.
OTOH, Barr's complaints about Trump making it 'impossible' to perform as AG was not smart and not correct. It fails to recognize presidential authority--which is odd, coming from a supporter of the Unitary Executive. Instead of bitching about tweets, Barr needs to seek a more cooperative relationship.
There's another interesting Fitton tweet that relates to the Blagojevich commutation:
Tom Fitton
@TomFitton
Over 11 years ago, FBI interviewed Barack Obama about sale of his Senate seat. There's a FBI "302" report of interview.
Rather than releasing document, DOJ has fought @JudicialWatch tooth and nail to keep it secret. #blagojevich

Judicial Watch Files Lawsuit against Department of Justice Seeking FBI Interviews with Obama,...
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice seeking access to FBI reports of interviews – “302s”...
judicialwatch.org
3:02 PM · Feb 18, 2020