Why They Are Sliming William Barr

The long knives are out for William Barr. Congressional Democrats and their media enablers are indulging the arts of slander, defamation, rhetorical hyperbole and apocalyptic prophecy. In truth, most of them are so stupid that they would have difficulty passing from political drama to governance. But, at least, they console themselves with the notion that the media is covering up their incompetence. Not to mention their venality.

For those who have mercifully missed the assault-- and assault it was, assault on Barr’s character, his integrity, his competence-- Kimberly Strassel sums it up well in the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Barr tolerantly sat through hours of Democratic insults at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday. His reward for his patience was to be labeled, in the space of a news cycle, a lawbreaking, dishonest, obstructing hack. Speaker Nancy Pelosi publicly accused Mr. Barr of lying to Congress, which, she added, is “considered a crime.” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said he will move to hold Mr. Barr in contempt unless the attorney general acquiesces to the unprecedented demand that he submit to cross-examination by committee staff attorneys. James Comey, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, lamented that Donald Trump had “eaten” Mr. Barr’s “soul.” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren demands the attorney general resign. California Rep. Eric Swalwell wants him impeached.

According to Strassel is bespeaks a primal terror, a fear that the gig might be up an that many high ranking members of the D. C. swamp, including high ranking officials from the Obama administration, will soon be facing justice. James Comey's intemperate and mindless rant suggests that he is in the crosshairs himself.

It would all severely damage the Democratic Party. And that is something we cannot allow, because we cannot besmirch the reputation of the Obama administration. And besides, since Trump is the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the known universe, no one should show any constraint in working to destroy him.

Anyway, after dealing with the pusillanimous Jeff Sessions, Congressional Democrats have met their match in William Barr. Strassel continues:

Mr. Barr made real news in that Senate hearing, and while the press didn’t notice, Democrats did. The attorney general said he’d already assigned people at the Justice Department to assist his investigation of the origins of the Trump-Russia probe. He said his review would be far-reaching—that he was obtaining details from congressional investigations, from the ongoing probe by the department’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, and even from Mr. Mueller’s work. Mr. Barr said the investigation wouldn’t focus only on the fall 2016 justifications for secret surveillance warrants against Trump team members but would go back months earlier.

He also said he’d focus on the infamous “dossier” concocted by opposition-research firm Fusion GPS and British former spy Christopher Steele, on which the FBI relied so heavily in its probe. Mr. Barr acknowledged his concern that the dossier itself could be Russian disinformation, a possibility he described as not “entirely speculative.” He also revealed that the department has “multiple criminal leak investigations under way” into the disclosure of classified details about the Trump-Russia investigation.

The one thing they do not want is to have the light of reason shown on their criminality. Most especially on their willingness to sacrifice democracy to their own pursuit of power.

Do not underestimate how many powerful people in Washington have something to lose from Mr. Barr’s probe. Among them: Former and current leaders of the law-enforcement and intelligence communities. The Democratic Party pooh-bahs who paid a foreign national (Mr. Steele) to collect information from Russians and deliver it to the FBI. The government officials who misused their positions to target a presidential campaign. The leakers. The media. More than reputations are at risk. Revelations could lead to lawsuits, formal disciplinary actions, lost jobs, even criminal prosecution.

The attacks on Mr. Barr are first and foremost an effort to force him out, to prevent this information from coming to light until Democrats can retake the White House in 2020. As a fallback, the coordinated campaign works as a pre-emptive smear, diminishing the credibility of his ultimate findings by priming the public to view him as a partisan.

That’s why Mr. Barr isn’t alone in getting slimed. Natasha Bertrand at Politico last month penned a hit piece on the respected Mr. Horowitz. It’s clear the inspector general is asking the right questions. The Politico article acknowledges he’s homing in on Mr. Steele’s “credibility” and the dossier’s “veracity”—then goes on to provide a defense of Mr. Steele and his dossier, while quoting unnamed sources who deride the “quality” of the Horowitz probe, and (hilariously) claim the long-tenured inspector general is not “well-versed” in core Justice Department functions.

That is the story, well explained by Strassel. It turns out that the entirety of the Russia collusion narrative boils down to static generated to distract from the crimes and misdemeanors of the Obama administration. Better yet, the campaign was mounted to promote the interest of that incompetent fraud named Hillary Clinton. Apparently, they did not believe that Hillary could win an election fairly, so they had to try to rig it for her. Isn't that the story of her life?