William Barr: ‘One Standard of Justice’ (A thoughtful article for people who don’t know it all)

[chuckiechan]

Opinion | William Barr: ‘One Standard of Justice’

The departing attorney general talks about John Durham, Robert Mueller, Hunter Biden, Mike Flynn and the flak he’s taken from both parties.

www.wsj.com

I ask if he has any advice for his successors, and he rounds back to the personal quality that defined his own tenure. “There has been a tendency for AGs to let the bureaucracy run itself, to sit in the office and look at the inbox,” he says. “After all, you can never get in trouble by going along with the institution.” But institutions are supposed to stand for principles, and it’s the attorney general’s job to reinforce them every day: “Be active. Make sure people understand the priorities, understand what they are there to do. Make the decisions.”

[SNIP]

“The Justice Department’s powers are vast, and professional attorneys therefore are subordinate to democratically accountable officials. “The Department of Justice is not a trade association for prosecutors,” Mr. Barr says. Its client is the American people; its duty is to ensure the principles and standards of justice are fairly executed.

He took flak from the right for not bringing the Justice Department hammer down on Mr. Trump’s adversaries. “A lot of Republicans think that’s playing by Robert’s Rules—you are being soft on the other side. And I understand that frustration. It’s painful that the system is used against Republicans and there is an AG not willing to do the same thing against Democrats. But that is the only way we find our way back,” he says—meaning back to one standard of justice, to not using the Justice Department as a political tool.”

An interesting, albeit scholarly look into the Barr’s theory behind running a justice department. He covers most of what is in the political grist mill today.

 

[ouch]

Barr has applied his fair share of obstruction in favor of his leader that has further empowered Trump, when, instead, full blown justice on Barr's part has been highly needed.

 

[chuckiechan]

If I were prez for an hour, I’d appoint a Special Council to investigate the FBI and the Justice Department both.

 

[Praxas]

If I were prez for an hour, I’d appoint a Special Council to investigate the FBI and the Justice Department both.

Yes, we know you'd waste money and time on a witch hunt. Trump supporters are by far the biggest morons on the planet.