Opinion: William Barr’s testimony was a terrible self-inflicted wound
William P. Barr during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington on Wednesday. By Harry Litman Harry Litman Contributing columnist focused on legal issues Bio Follow Contributing columnist April 12 at 3:53 PM One of the most frequently used words, including by me, to describe William P. Barr when he was nominated for attorney general was institutionalist.”
Barr’s attempts to walk back his mal mot did little to reduce the damage. That’s partly because the problem was more than a slip of the tongue. It was also his decision, however described, to reexamine the individual conduct of FBI and Justice Department officials who initiated the counterintelligence investigation.
It’s not that Barr’s review of how the counterintelligence investigation came to pass is necessarily illegitimate. If, for example, Barr wanted to convene a group within the department to review the procedures for launching a counterintelligence investigation, that would be consistent with the attorney general’s institutional role. Barr averred, however, that he had something very different, and dear to Trump, in mind — namely, “investigating the investigators.
This self-manned mission, in addition to being irregular, threatens to cast a shadow on the work of the inspector general, who will be hard-pressed not to look over his shoulder in the expectation of what the boss is likely to conclude.
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