Schiff Walking In Fear Of Barr
The Washington Examiner had a story yesterday based on an interview Adam Schiff gave to the Talking Feds podcast on July 13, 2020 (transcript ). Schiff's fear of Bill Barr is almost palpable--which should encourage the faint hearted. It's the fear Schiff has for an honest, principled, and highly competent man.
How Attorney General William Barr may yet unleash the power of the Justice Department has House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff unnerved.
The California Democrat invoked U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is conducting a criminal inquiry of the federal Russia investigation, as he discussed his dread that "more serious abuse" of federal law enforcement will happen in the coming days.
It's amusing to see Schiff, in what was surely a Freudian slip, allowing his inner Chekist to show, describing Barr as Trump's "sword and shield "--the first image to come to his mind, apparently. According to Schiff, so far we've mostly seen Barr as Trump's "shield," but what's apparently keeping Schiff awake nights is the fear that we're about to see--through the Durham investigation--Barr as Trump's sword. A terrible swift sword, to use a more American metaphor.
"One of the concerns I have with Bill Barr is that the worst is yet to come. ..."
Yes! Exactly what I'm hoping!
"What we have not yet had full visibility on is ... [h]ow [Barr] may be using the power of the Justice Department through Durham ..."
...
Whereas Schiff is spooked by being kept in the dark about Durham's work, his Republican counterpart on the House Intelligence Committee views that as a "good sign."
"The one good thing so far that we've learned about this Durham investigation is that Durham isn’t talking. People on his team aren’t talking," California Rep. Devin Nunes said during a Fox News interview last month. "I think that’s a good sign that this is a real, legitimate investigation that’s occurring."
It all sounds good to me.