Quote of the Week...from Attorney General William Barr

I also believe it is very important that the public and Congress be informed of the results of the special counsel's work, my goal will be to provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law.                                                    United States Attorney General William Barr

Bill Barr, who served as Attorney General under the first George Bush many years ago, was picked a few months ago by President Trump to fill the same position's vacancy following his firing of Jeff Sessions.  I watched some of Barr's Senate confirmation hearing and was impressed by his candor and realness. Barr knew that by taking on that job enormous pressure would be placed on him by all sides regarding the Mueller investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. During those hearings he said, "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, by anybody.  Whether it be editorial boards, or Congress or the President.  I'm going to do what I think is right."  A great part of the concern from supporters of independent counsel Robert Mueller's investigation arose from Barr's earlier criticism of it, along with questioning whether a sitting president could be charged with obstruction of justice.  Well, the Attorney General did nothing to interfere with Mueller's investigation and the final report was handed to him last week.  Barr has been constantly stressing...sounding a lot like a broken record...that he would make every effort to release as much of the final report to the public and Congress as legally possible.  First, the Justice Department would need to go through it and withhold classified information as well as parts that pertain to other cases currently under investigation or prosecution...this takes time.  Still, Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein read the 300+ page Mueller Report and promptly issued a four-page synapsis of its main points.  Since this summary conveys Mueller's opinion that there wasn't evidence proving collusion or conspiracy between Trump and his campaign and the Russians, it as seen as a disappointment by some never-Trumpers...including those who wanted to impeach him before he was even sworn into office.  Barr and Rosenstein also answered Mueller's open question as to whether there was obstruction on the part of the President: they both expressed the opinion that they felt there wasn't.  This riled many because of Barr's earlier statements about obstruction, and I have to acknowledge their legitimate concerns...but remember, Mueller himself wasn't too keen on pushing obstruction, either.  In my opinion, it is pure political theater to demand the immediate release of the full report...the Democrats in Congress making these demands know perfectly well that it must first be redacted to withhold sensitive or inappropriate information.  I have the feeling that no matter how Bill Barr chose to handle this situation, he would right now be on the receiving end of a torrent of strident criticism and innuendos that he is nothing but a Trump lackey trying to rig the report to minimize any politically damaging sections, this despite his claim within the summary that the report did not exonerate Trump.  To those currently flipping out over the report not yet being publicly released in full, I say: chill out, take a deep breath, and give Bill Barr a chance to come through, because as far as I can see he's doing the best he can...

I'm hearing that the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee will soon subpoena Robert Mueller himself to testify there regarding his investigation and report.  I expect him to not contradict Attorney General Barr's conclusions and decisions, as well as to help to instruct both Congress and the American public about the nature of this process as it is being played out...