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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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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