{"id":41155,"date":"2019-04-10T12:16:31","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T19:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=41155"},"modified":"2019-04-10T12:33:12","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T19:33:12","slug":"attorney-general-william-barr-parrots-trumps-spying-lie-triggers-a-cable-news-freak-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=41155","title":{"rendered":"Attorney General William Barr Parrots Trump’s ‘Spying’ Lie, Triggers a Cable News Freak Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

The frequent exhibitions of narcissism and paranoia by Donald Trump have become a such a common occurrence that they are at risk of becoming passe. His frantic outbursts are getting more intense and irrational everyday, as witnessed by a bizarre Obama Derangement fit<\/a><\/strong> on Tuesday. But the risk that others in his sphere of influence are being infected by the same disease is all too real and dangerous.<\/p>\n

\"Donald
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On Wednesday morning Trump’s newly confirmed plant in the Justice Department, Attorney General William Barr, testified in the Senate about his mischaracterizations of the report by special counsel Robert Mueller. And if there were any doubt that Barr would serve as Trump’s obedient lackey and shield from legal jeopardy, that was eliminated entirely by his profoundly smarmy puppet act.<\/p>\n

There were numerous occasions when Barr simply refused to respond to questions for no other reason than that he didn’t feel like it. That included questions concerning his own conclusions about the Mueller report that he conveyed in his enfeebled four page “summary”<\/em> to Congress of the 300+ page report. But perhaps the most troubling part of Barr’s obsequious testimony was when he brazenly adopted Trump’s own delusional rhetoric regarding the Mueller probe that he has repeatedly maligned as a “witch hunt.”<\/em> Barr was asked about whether he would be reviewing allegations that Mueller and the FBI improperly “spied”<\/em> on Trump:<\/p>\n

“I am going to be reviewing both the genesis and the conduct of intelligence activities directed at the Trump campaign during 2016. I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal. […] I think spying did occur. The question is whether it was adequately predicated. I\u2019m not suggesting it was not adequately predicated, but I need to explore that.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Barr is taking up the mantle of Trump, and his thoroughly dishonest defenders on Fox News, who have been ranting for months that Mueller and others in law enforcement were corrupt and even treasonous. They’ve been smearing Mueller for doing his job, which was to examine the abundant evidence of foreign interference in the 2016 presidential intended to benefit Trump and harm Hillary Clinton. And there is nothing ambiguous about Barr’s partisan intentions. He is literally using the same charged language that Trump himself uses to vilify his critics. Trump has been fuming non-stop about his perceived enemies “spying”<\/em> on him. He has posted thirty-six tweets making that utterly false assertion. For example, here’s one from more than a year ago that incorporates the full range of conspiracies in his twisted imagination:<\/p>\n

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Disproven and paid for by Democrats \u201cDossier used to spy on Trump Campaign. Did FBI use Intel tool to influence the Election?\u201d @foxandfriends<\/a> Did Dems or Clinton also pay Russians? Where are hidden and smashed DNC servers? Where are Crooked Hillary Emails? What a mess!<\/p>\n

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n