By Melvin A. Goodman,
The Trump Administration is lowering the “Barr” on justice and decency. Attorney General William Barr, who virtually serves as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, has made unprecedented interventions in cases at the Department of Justice (DoJ) on behalf of his leading client. He intervened in the sentencing of the president’s long-time friend Roger Stone and former national security adviser General Michael Flynn, and misled the country on the meaning of the Mueller Report that made a compelling case for Trump’s obstruction of justice.
Running Interference
In a speech on September 16th at Hillsdale College in Michigan, Barr made a vigorous defense of his alleged interference.
Evidence, “Shmemidence”, Who Needs It?
Barr and his deputy, Jeffrey Rosen, also suggested bringing sedition charges against those who committed violence in protest rallies in Portland and Seattle. They argued that prosecutors didn’t need evidence of a plot to overthrow the government to consider and bring charges under the statute “despite what the name [of the law] might suggest. Numerous members of the DoJ viewed these possible charges as “highly unusual.”
How Low Can Trump Go?
In addition to his attacks on “left-wing demonstrators” and “far-left mobs,” Trump argued for a new “pro-American curriculum” in the nation’s schools. He made his remarks at the National Archives Museum, standing before the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in what was billed as the first “White House Conference on American History.” Trump spoke on Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the document in 1787. It rivaled his blasphemous appearance at the St. John’s Episcopal Church in June 2020 with bible in hand–albeit upside down and backwards.
Trumped Up Charges?
Two weeks ago, the Trump administration announced it was investigating Princeton to determine if there had been a violation of federal civil rights laws in acknowledging that the university had a history of “systemic racism”. In August, Barr’s DoJ also accused Yale of violating federal civil rights law through its admissions policies, and supported legal efforts to end affirmative action at Harvard. The Department of Education also weighed in and charged that Princeton, “based on its admitted racism,” may have received more than $75 million in taxpayer funding under false pretenses.