William Barr Puts on a Masterclass in Bullshitting
Attorney General William Barr kicked off his first of two days of congressional testimony on Wednesday, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee to answer questions about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and President Donald Trump’s attempts to influence that investigation. At least, that was ostensibly what he was there to do, but in depressingly predictable fashion, the hearing quickly devolved into Barr putting on a masterclass in bullshitting and obfuscation.
Aided by Republicans eager to adjudicate Hillary Clinton’s emails rather than discuss Mueller’s report, Barr dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged just about every question raised by Democrats over his extremely questionable handling of the special counsel’s report and Mueller’s newly-reported objections over his actions.
After a painfully obvious attempt by committee chairman Lindsay Graham to frame the hearing as a referendum on anything but Trump, Barr faced off against Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, twisting himself into an under-baked pretzel to explain why the president’s ordering former White House Counsel Don McGahn to orchestrate Mueller’s firing (McGahn refused, according to Mueller’s report) didn’t constitute obstruction of justice.