Bill Barr Tells Trump to Shut Up

Attorney General Bill Barr said today that he wants President Trump to stop tweeting about criminal cases. “I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me,” he said.

Among the liberal twitterati, there are two interpretations of Barr’s comments:

  • Barr wants Trump to stop tweeting about criminal cases because it’s wrong.
  • Barr wants Trump to stop tweeting about criminal cases because it would be better to pass along his corrupt wishes quietly.

I think you can guess which interpretation has the most traction in lefty-land. Oddly enough, I’m withholding judgment, even though “he’s lying” is the smart money bet for practically anything that any of Trump’s minions says. I suppose my guess is that Barr’s message is something in between: I’m not an idiot, Donald. I already know what you want. But your blabbing gives the game away, so just shut up and let me politicize the Justice Department on my own.

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Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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