The Durham Report: How to actually "weaponize" the DOJ

[Dill]

How Barr’s Quest to Find Flaws in the Russia Inquiry Unraveled
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/26/us/politics/durham-trump-russia-barr.html

In a nutshell: 

1. April 2019, Barr appointed/ordered Durham to investigate the investigators behind the Russia "witch hunt" which, he claimed in front of aides,
originated with U.S. intel agencies--the face of that "deep state" hostile to Trump. And he ordered the agencies to cooperate or suffer unspecified retaliation.

2. After a year of investigation could not produce the desired evidence, Barr flew with Durham to Britain and Italy to question gov. officials on their governments'  "involvement" in this horrendous attempt to frame Trump. 

3. The baffled if fully cooperative Italian government not only denied Barr's premise, but offered a tip regarding Trump's international business practices serious enough for Durham to open a criminal investigation into Trump.

4. Barr/Durham allowed a Fox News to report that the investigation into FBI wrongdoing had led to the discovery of potential criminal activity--neglecting to mention that activity was Trump's, not the FBI's. 

Benghazi mode then--outrage over the imagined crimes, which there must have occurred if all these Trump DOJ officials are talking about them in their investigation. Congressional Republicans wanted the Report published, assuming it would confirm the "witch hunt" narrative. Trump demanded release of the Report and indictments before the 2020 election. Barr chose NOT to publicize the criminal investigation before the election. 

On a side note, the NYT article also clarifies the baffling resignations of Durham's partner and several other lawyers working on the Report of Barr/Durham's repeated ethical violations. One cause was the decision to indict the Clinton lawyer, Sussman, on virtually no actionable evidence and working around a judge's order to pursue email evidence illegally. Sussman was taken to court and, of course, charges were quickly dismissed. Another was the continued pressure by Barr on this supposedly "independent" investigation. 

Barr's behavior here seems to me an even more egregious violation of DOJ neutrality than his intercept/deflection of the Mueller Report, which legitimized the Trump-was-exonerated! narrative for millions of voters unable or unwilling to read through the legal arguments and evidence themselves. 

So this "investigation" appears to have gone the way of the investigation into millions of illegals voting for Hillary in 2016. 

Something to keep in mind as our Congress gears up to investigate the Biden crime family and the Dems who impeached Trump and investigated Jan. 6 and raided Mar-a-Lago.

Hunter Biden Laptop HERE WE COME!!

[Dill]

Keeping to the topic of "weaponization," it appears Barr also played a major role in squelching any prosecution
of Trump arising from the Stormy Daniels payoff.

Ya'll may remember that Cohen was working with someone known only as "individual 1" who tasked him with
laundering a payment. Many of us wondered how Cohen could go to jail for this crime but not the person ordering
it and writing the check on one D.J.Trump's account.

The investigation is just beginning, but WOW--so far it looks like Barr (and Trump) were frantically
pulling an array of legal levers to protect Trump from consequences.

William Barr tried to interfere in Michael Cohen’s case before abruptly firing prosecutor: report
https://www.salon.com/2020/06/26/william-barr-tried-to-interfere-in-michael-cohens-case-before-abruptly-firing-prosecutor-report/

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to tax evasion and campaign finance violations after admitting to paying $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels at the direction of then-candidate Donald Trump, who was referred to as "Individual-1" in court documents. But Barr sought to intervene in the case right after he became attorney general, at which time Cohen had already been sentenced to three years in prison, according to The Times....

He instructed officials at the Justice Department to write a memo raising legal questions seeking to undercut the conviction, all according to the report. The order was similar to the ones he gave before the Justice Department intervened in the cases of longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, which also stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.