Update: So Barr lied to Congress, what else is new? Just another example of the utter contempt the very white fascist boys have for do-nothing Democrats. This is Pickett's Charge all over again--doomed to failure, but they have nothing to loose except a permanently right-wing government, and a rigged political system that backs them up. As they say in poker, it's all on the table. Your play, Nancy, and remember your are playing for democracy stakes.
{01.05.19} US Person asks, why should 'Mericans take the time to read a 400+ page report when the House of Representatives is apparently not going to impeach a President that arguably has committed impeachable offenses? The Swamp is fascinated by endless mindgames and mendacity, not defending the Constitution. The unindicted co-conspirator named Individual I is engaged in an all out resistance to any congressional inquiry short of impeachment proceedings. But the party in control of the House is simply too spineless to go that route; they are willing to substitute endless hearings with no real outcome to provide what one Democratic lawmaker termed, "a form of entertainment".
Don Veto has launched a preemptive strike in the form of unprecedented lawsuits intended to block several subpoenas already issued as well as testimony from subordinates and family members. His suits want to block subpoenas issued to third parties too. Chairman Elizah Cumming's demand for eight years worth of financial documents from Mazars USA is characterized in one filing as an effort to "harass the President", and an abuse of power. Cummings has made a similar demand to Capital One. He told the press that Don Veto has a history of using litigation to browbeat his opponents, and there is no valid legal basis for objecting to Congress' oversight authority.
The "Bengahzi approach", as some are calling it, refers to the seemingly endless hearings on the 2012 Bengahzi terrorist attack convened by Repugnants. The hearings eventually led to the discovery of Hillary Clinton's unauthorized email server that haunted her 2016 campaign. Clearly this approach is a political weapon intended to damage Don Veto's re-election chances; so it is subject to the valid criticism of harassment since it avoids the elephant-sized constitutional crisis presented by the impeachment process for his crimes. Democrats have to either live up to the separation of powers doctrine, or bow their heads to the new fascist dictator of 'Merica. They cannot have their favorable "optics" and defend the Constitution too. In the context of impeachment proceedings, the House would have much more flexibility to enforce the production of evidence and testimony, including the underlying materials at the center of Mueller’s investigation. Even Repugnants admit that: “I don’t know, frankly, if it’s such a bad thing for Democrats to do
that [start impeachment]. Once you get these things and you explore it, who knows where it
goes?” said Tom Davis, a former Virginia GOP congressman who chaired the
House Oversight Committee.
Meanwhile, the subpoenas go unanswered. The Judiciary Committee is in negotiations for Mueller's testimony, which could be the blockbuster hearing of them all. One of the first questions they should ask him is why he did not subpoena Trump Jr. as a witness. 'MiniMe' was present at the pivotal Manhattan Trump Tower meeting with Russian operatives, and was aware of the then forthcoming release of DNC emails purloined by Russian agents. The Judiciary Committee also wants to examine Hope Hicks, Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, former top aides. Why not call Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who knows about five more hush money payments, and has been given immunity by federal investigators? He is the one individual who knows more about the Trump Organization finances then anyone. If you need a list of questions to ask him, Congress members, go here.
By now it is clear Attorney General Barr is part of the aggressive stonewall campaign being conducted by the Very White House. His ridiculous four page "summary" of the Mueller investigation is more a misleading whitewash designed to give his boss plausible deniability. Even Robert Mueller, a team player to the end, objected to Barr's misstatement of his findings in a letter sent last month saying Barr's "summary" did not capture the context, nature and substance of his findings. Barr returned the favor by attacking Mueller in his testimony before the Senate today. Fourteen related criminal referrals from the Special Counsel are under his control. What a crew!