We wanted to believe the best about William P. Barr when confirmed Attorney General by the Senate. He was described as having had a distinguished career and was a “principled-institutionalist”. Obviously, that’s not always a positive. Barr’s recent ‘legal order’ delivers on Trump’s promise to end “catch and release” of migrants crossing the border to escape death and sexual-trafficking in their home countries. “William Barr was an ardent champion of policies that have transformed America into the world’s leading incarcerator”, except when it comes to high-level Republicans convicted of crimes. Former president George H.W. Bush pardoned six individuals — involved in the Iran-Contra scandal, four of whom had already been convicted of lying to federal and congressional investigators about the secret, illegal operation — at the suggestion of William Barr, as former AG.
“Barr figured prominently in arguments to limit CIA responsibility to provide notification to Congress about covert actions during the 1980’s.” Barr, at a senior post in Office of Legal Counsel, wrote legal responses supporting the idea of the president’s “virtually unfettered discretion” in foreign policy, and downplayed Congress’s power of the purse, asserting that it was “by no means limitless”.
Barr misled Congress 30 years ago when as Assistant Attorney General under ‘Poppy Bush’, he wrote a controversial legal opinion titled, “Authority of the FBI to Override Customary or Other International Law in the Course of Extraterritorial Law Enforcement Activities”, basically saying that FBI agents had the authority to apprehend enemies or fugitives from U.S. law …. in foreign countries, without first obtaining the foreign state’s consent. Shortly thereafter, Barr appeared before Congress and refused to provide the document he had authored, but offered to give them a “summary of principal conclusions” of the reasoning and objectives. Sound familiar? Barr’s memo reversed an earlier ruling (warning that agents could face kidnapping charges abroad if they used such tactics). Barr provided a “redacted opinion” to Congress. “There was no justifiable reason for having withheld that document from Congress or the public”, and Barr omitted the most controversial parts of that justice department memo when giving his ‘summary’ to Congress. ‘Poppy Bush’ had thrown out several statements regarding overthrowing Panama; the memo written in-part to justify seizing dictator, Manuel Noriega.
Barr, ‘the cover-up General’, feels strongly that the Office of the Presidency has “virtually unfettered discretion” in doing whatever it deems necessary, and obviously feels “the ends justifies the means’. A career distinguished — by GOP cover-ups.
Trish Forsyth Voss
May 13 2019
Barr, Attorney General of the U.S. or acting-Defense-counsel of Trump.
We wanted to believe the best about William P. Barr when confirmed Attorney General by the Senate. He was described as having had a distinguished career and was a “principled-institutionalist”. Obviously, that’s not always a positive. Barr’s recent ‘legal order’ delivers on Trump’s promise to end “catch and release” of migrants crossing the border to escape death and sexual-trafficking in their home countries. “William Barr was an ardent champion of policies that have transformed America into the world’s leading incarcerator”, except when it comes to high-level Republicans convicted of crimes. Former president George H.W. Bush pardoned six individuals — involved in the Iran-Contra scandal, four of whom had already been convicted of lying to federal and congressional investigators about the secret, illegal operation — at the suggestion of William Barr, as former AG.
“Barr figured prominently in arguments to limit CIA responsibility to provide notification to Congress about covert actions during the 1980’s.” Barr, at a senior post in Office of Legal Counsel, wrote legal responses supporting the idea of the president’s “virtually unfettered discretion” in foreign policy, and downplayed Congress’s power of the purse, asserting that it was “by no means limitless”.
Barr misled Congress 30 years ago when as Assistant Attorney General under ‘Poppy Bush’, he wrote a controversial legal opinion titled, “Authority of the FBI to Override Customary or Other International Law in the Course of Extraterritorial Law Enforcement Activities”, basically saying that FBI agents had the authority to apprehend enemies or fugitives from U.S. law …. in foreign countries, without first obtaining the foreign state’s consent. Shortly thereafter, Barr appeared before Congress and refused to provide the document he had authored, but offered to give them a “summary of principal conclusions” of the reasoning and objectives. Sound familiar? Barr’s memo reversed an earlier ruling (warning that agents could face kidnapping charges abroad if they used such tactics). Barr provided a “redacted opinion” to Congress. “There was no justifiable reason for having withheld that document from Congress or the public”, and Barr omitted the most controversial parts of that justice department memo when giving his ‘summary’ to Congress. ‘Poppy Bush’ had thrown out several statements regarding overthrowing Panama; the memo written in-part to justify seizing dictator, Manuel Noriega.
Barr, ‘the cover-up General’, feels strongly that the Office of the Presidency has “virtually unfettered discretion” in doing whatever it deems necessary, and obviously feels “the ends justifies the means’. A career distinguished — by GOP cover-ups.
Trish Forsyth Voss
By spiritspeak • Letter to the Editor 0