OPINION:
The Washington Post published an opinion piece titled, “If William Barr refuses to testify, he should be impeached.”
Rep. Maxine Waters, non-surprisingly, said similarly in an interview on “All In” on MSNBC, as reported by Breitbart: “I think that Barr should resign. If he does not resign, he should be facing impeachment proceedings also.”
Yes, let’s impeach him. Impeach ’em all. Why not? After all, campaign season is kicking into high gear. Democrats need something to counter the roaring economy, the stellar jobs’ numbers.
The Post writer, Jennifer Rubin, said Barr “has been accused of misstating the reason that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III did not reach a prosecutorial decision on obstruction, of wrongfully inserting himself to make the call that Mueller would not and of refusing to put forth an unredacted version of the report.”
And, as everyone knows, accusations are pretty much, very nearly, just about one and the same as proof. Particularly when the accusations come from the likes of pundits on MSNBC, or from Rep. Adam Schiff. Add to that Barr’s reluctance to appear before the pit bulls sicced on him by House Democrats — meaning, attorneys — to account for such quote-unquote crimes, and what you’ve got, in the eyes of the left, is a guy worthy of jailing. For 20 years to life, at least.
“The Democratic members of the committee and their staff are as puzzled as anyone why Barr should be throwing a fit over the identity of the questioner,” The Post piece goes on to wonder.
Well, here’s a thought: Because why would he?
Barr agreed to speak to members of Congress — to even Democratic members of Congress. He’s headed to the Senate on Wednesday. He agreed to the House for Thursday. But why would he subject himself to the pin-head legal minds in the bankroll of Democrats who only want to sift and parse Barr’s testimony for any “in” to persecute — to dazzle the public with legal jargon that paints Barr’s handling of Mueller’s report, Barr’s character and Barr’s attorney general ethics in negative lights?
It’s one thing for the Democrats to populate a lion’s den with lions, and then open wide the gate for their victim to enter. It’s another thing entirely for Democrats to cry heartily when their witting victim refuses to enter. And this is what’s taking place now. Barr is no dummy; Democrats, with the help of the left-leaning media, are screaming that he won’t enter the lion’s den they’ve populated with attorneys. They’re screaming Barr won’t allow himself to be savaged by their legal lions.
It’s almost humorous. Or, it would be if the left wasn’t so serious about its vicious intents.
“Congress Should Be Ready to Arrest Attorney General William Barr If He Defies Subpoena,” Robert Reich wrote in an opinion piece for Newsweek, about House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler’s planned next move — subpoena — if Barr refuses to testify in the House.
But as one spokesperson for the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee told CNN, in response to Nadler’s condemnations of Barr for refusing to play the Democrats’ game: “The only thing, apparently, that will satisfy Democrats, who refuse to read the less-redacted report, is to have staff pinch hit when a cabinet official appears before us. What actual precedent is there for our committee making such demands of a sitting attorney general as part of our oversight duties? The attorney general isn’t a fact witness, and this committee’s investigations — as Democrat leadership reminds us daily — don’t constitute impeachment, so Democrats have yet to prove their demands are anything but abusive and illogical in light of the transparency and good faith the attorney general has shown our committee.”
Precedent, schmecedent. Fact witness? Blah, blah.
With Democrats, it’s all about the takedown.
The left has been unsuccessful at impeaching President Donald Trump. So Barr will suffice — for now. Because if Democrats can smear Barr, they can reignite the whole Trump-Russia thing in time for 2020. They can have at presidential impeachment all the way through campaign season. If at first they don’t succeed, they try, try again. Barr is their lynchpin to Trump.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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