AG William Barr

Barr: ‘Black Lives Matter’ and That Includes Crime Victims

During an interview with ABC News released on Wednesday, Attorney General William Barr stated that he agrees with the sentiment that black lives matter and that sentiment applies to people who are victims of homicides, and black lives also matter “in the sense of ensuring that African Americans fully participate in the benefits of this society and their lives flourish.” Barr said he distinguishes between the Black Lives Matter organization, which he disagrees with, and the sentiment that black lives matter. He continued, “Obviously, black lives matter. I think all lives, all human life is sacred. I also think that it’s being used now — is sort of distorting the debate to some extent. Because it’s used really to refer exclusively to black lives that are lost to police misconduct, which have been going down, statistically. Five years ago, there were 40 such incidents, this last year it was ten. So, at least it’s a positive trajectory there, but then you compare it to 8,000 homicides in the African American community. Those are black lives that matter, too.” Barr also stated, “It’s also black lives matter, in the sense of ensuring that African Americans fully participate in the benefits of this society and their lives flourish.”

Barr orders legal action against governors whose COVID-19 actions infringe on civil rights

Attorney General William P. Barr Monday ordered U.S. attorneys to consider legal action against governors whose efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infringe upon Americans’ civil rights. In a two-page memo to all U. S. Attorneys, Mr. Barr directed federal prosecutors to “be on the lookout” for local and state directives that could infringe upon religious, free speech or economic rights under the Constitution. “If a state or local ordinance crosses the line from an appropriate exercise of authority to stop the spread of COVID-19 into an overbearing infringement of constitutional and statutory protections, the Department of Justice may have an obligation to address that overreach in federal court,” Mr. Barr wrote in a memo to all 93 U.S. attorneys. Mr. Barr also directed Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Eric Dreiband and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Matthew Schneider to oversee the department’s efforts to monitor state and local policies. The two officials will work with state and local governments as well as other federal agencies, according to the memo. “Many policies that would be unthinkable in regular times have become commonplace in recent weeks, and we do not want to unduly interfere with the important efforts of state and local officials to protect the public. But the Constitution is not suspended in times of crisis,” Mr. Barr wrote. “We must therefore be vigilant to ensure its protections are preserved, at the same time that the public is protected,” he said. Mr. Barr’s directive comes as governors begin the process to reopen after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered their economies. The path has been slow with some governors proposing reopening in stages, frustrating President Trump. The president is anxious for the nation to get back to work as unemployment claims reach record levels and businesses struggle to stay afloat with Americans stuck inside under stay-at-home orders. Mr. Trump said earlier this month that some governors have “gone too far” in their efforts to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. And his conservative supporters have protested in a number of states demanding their governors loosen restrictions. Mr. Barr last week said the Justice Department would support legal action against states that continue to impose strict social distancing rules, calling the orders “burdens on civil liberties.” “The idea that you have to stay in your house is disturbingly close to house arrest,” he said in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. “I’m not saying it wasn’t justified. I’m not saying in some places it might [not] still be justified. But it’s very onerous, as is shutting down your livelihood.”

Agreed!!  MAJOR kudos to AG William Barr and his great team at DOJ for this initiative.  It’s time to reassess some of these restrictions and get this country back up and running.  Ask yourself..  When was the last time an Attorney General cared about your freedoms and civil rights?  This is definitely a first in my lifetime.  Excellent!!      🙂

AG Barr: Media Have Been on a ‘Jihad’ to Discredit Hydroxychloroquine

Wednesday during an interview with Laura Ingraham that aired on Fox News, Attorney General William Barr expressed his displeasure in the partisan nature of criticisms leveled against President Donald Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Barr noted the media efforts to criticize hydroxychloroquine, a drug touted by Trump during appearances with the coronavirus task force. “[I]t’s very disappointing because I think the president went out at the beginning of this thing and really was statesmanlike, trying to bring people together, working with all the governors, keeping his patience as he got these snarky gotcha questions from the White House media pool,” Barr said. “And the stridency of the partisan attacks on him has gotten higher and higher, and it’s really disappointing to see. And the politicization of decisions like hydroxychloroquine has been amazing to me.” “Before the president said anything about it, there was fair and balanced coverage of this very promising drug, and the fact that it had such a long track record that the risks were pretty well known,” he continued. “And as soon as he said something positive about it, the media has been on a jihad to discredit the drug. It’s quite strange.”

To see a video of this interview with the Attorney General, click on the text above.

William Barr confirms expanded Justice Department probe of Russia-Clinton links

Attorney General William P. Barr revealed Wednesday that the Justice Department is looking into the possibility that Russian operatives fed disinformation to the Hillary Clinton campaign during the 2016 presidential election season. Mr. Barr told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about the expanded scope of a review into “the activities over the summer of 2016,” which included vehemently anti-Trump FBI senior officials making key decisions on the investigations of Mrs. Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump. One key question is how much the FBI relied on the dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, using information gleaned from Russian sources, which helped spur the Trump-Russia collusion narrative. The dossier was funded by payments from the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee that were hidden in campaign finance reports behind payments to a law firm. Republican senators said it’s possible that Mr. Steele’s Russian sources were intentionally feeding him disinformation, which then made it to the highest levels of the FBI. Indeed, former FBI Director James B. Comey’s first personal interaction with Mr. Trump was to brief him on the Steele dossier shortly before his inauguration in January 2017. “That’s the definition of collusion,” said Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the chamber’s senior Republican. Mr. Barr said he doesn’t know the answer — yet. “That is one of the areas that I’m reviewing. I’m concerned about it, and I don’t think it’s entirely speculative,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

One word…karma.  What goes around, comes around.  Now the shoe is on the other foot, and AG Barr is rightfully assembling a team to look into how this whole nonsense actually started.  The whole things was based on lies and a brazen abuse of power by the Obama DOJ.  Pop some popcorn and get ready to sit back and watch the fireworks as the heads of Dems explode over this.  They fed America the lie that their duly-elected President was a traitor and a Russian plant.  Now, we know the whole Russian collusion narrative was a hoax; a hoax perpetrated by Dems and their willing accomplices in the dominantly liberal mainstream media.  AG Barr is gonna investigate how it started, and follow the trail wherever it leads.  And corrupt Dems are nervous as heck, which is why they’re disingenuously crying foul.  This is gonna be fun!  For more, click on the text above.   🙂