Will The Tables Turn? The Lindsey Graham Interview
Earlier this morning I suggested that AG Bill Barr has loosed the reins that Rod Rosenstein had imposed on IG Michael Horowitz, regarding internal investigations of wrongdoing at the FBI and DoJ (Andrew Weissmann To Leave Team Mueller And DoJ ). Last night, speaking to Sean Hannity, Lindsey Graham, new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, referenced IG Horowitz's long anticipated report regarding FBI/DoJ abuse in the Carter Page FISA application, and he did it in an interesting way. Rather than say, We need to see OIG's report--long rumored to be complete--Graham spoke of the report as if there is still work to be done. As if Horowitz may have resisted release of the report because his hands had been tied.
Graham then went on to call for a Special Counsel to investigate the whole complex of highly irregular events surrounding the Hillary Clinton email investigation and the Russia Hoax. (Video below)
I'm not sure how AG Barr feels about the whole concept of a Special Counsel--he may oppose it on principled conservative grounds. However, recall that as far back as summer of 2017 AG Barr went on public record--that's what speaking to the NYT means, I think--regarding this complex of investigations:
Of 10 former attorneys general contacted Tuesday, only one responded to a question about what they would do in Mr. Sessions’s situation.
“There is nothing inherently wrong about a president calling for an investigation,” said William P. Barr, who ran the Justice Department under President George Bush. “Although an investigation shouldn’t be launched just because a president wants it, the ultimate question is whether the matter warrants investigation.”
Mr. Barr said he sees more basis for investigating the uranium deal than any supposed collusion between Mr. Trump and Russia. “To the extent it is not pursuing these matters, the department is abdicating its responsibility,” he said.
Possibly Senator Graham's call for a Special Counsel needs to be viewed in that perspective.
And then there's this, as reported by the WaPo, from Barr's confirmation hearings:
“I feel I’m in a position in life where I can do the right thing and not really care about the consequences. In the sense that I can be truly independent,” Barr said.
He added: “I had a very good life. I have a very good life. I love it. But I also want to help in this circumstance, and I am not going to do anything that I think is wrong, and I will not be bullied into doing anything I think is wrong. ... I’m going to do what I think is right.”
Independent? Wants to help in this circumstance? Will do what he thinks is right? OMG! Bill Barr may well be the Deep State's worst nightmare.