Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics

Report: Barr Has Moved Against Giuliani In Meetings With President Trump

Attorney General William Barr has reportedly counseled President Donald Trump that his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has served him poorly and should be dropped. The Washington Post reported Sunday that Barr has directly raised with Trump the need for him to recognize what a liability Giuliani has become. It is an interesting story because Giuliani has not only become inappropriately intertwined with State Department business but also Justice Department business. It is not clear if Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made any such objections, but the Post is reporting that various sources have confirmed that Barr has moved against Giuliani.

The story is quite believable. Barr is highly protective over the Justice Department and he is a very different type of lawyer from Giuliani. The Ukraine business was likely the final straw for Barr. There is an ongoing investigation by U.S. Attorney John Durham into these questions and it is not the time for free lancing by Giuliani. Barr’s Department has also moved aggressively against Giuliani in a sprawling investigation as well as his two associates Igor Fruman. Those two highly dubious characters worked with Giuliani who was (according to Giuliani and various witnesses) working for President Trump in pursuing matters in Ukraine.

I have obviously been a vocal critic of Giuliani’s for years in his baffling public statements and efforts. Nevertheless, the President has embraced and empowered him. It is interesting to hear however that Barr has moved against Giuliani. Barr has tried to maintain the peace with the White House and get the Department back on terra firma. He has done well in the balance while protecting the Mueller and Durham investigations. That is evident from the fact that Barr’s department could build these highly damaging cases against Giuliani, Fruman, and Parnas not generate attacks from President Trump as was the case with Jeff Sessions. The move against Giuliani directly with Trump likely reflects a final exasperation with the damage being done by Giuliani and the difficult questions raised for the Department by his efforts.

Trump may not want to alienate Giuliani who is a wealth of information and influence. However, this story reflects a now open conflict between two of the biggest names in Trump’s inner circle.

76 thoughts on “Report: Barr Has Moved Against Giuliani In Meetings With President Trump”

  2. “Allan isn’t just stupid — he’s crazy to boot.”
    ********************
    Good stuff anonymous. Any word on his mother’s footwear. You guys in the cafeteria must have great fun before PE and driver’s ed.

    1. LOL. Mespo, I don’t think Anonymous the Stupid has the ability to understand your point.

        1. Well, Anonymous the Stupid, I agree with you but that doesn’t make you smart and you remain Anonymous the Stupid.

                1. Anonymous the Stupid you remain in the rocker and mom is coming in. I guess you need her to change your diapers.

                    2. Time for Anonymous the Stupid and his alterego Fido to find another park to soil. I note the cleaning crew has been cleaning up after you guys so that normal people can walk around without stepping on sh.t.

                    3. Forwarding all comments to JT — those that have been deleted and those that remain. Maybe he needs to fire his clean-up crew and get a new one.

                    4. “Maybe he needs to fire his clean-up crew and get a new one.”

                      No. The old clean-up crew can’t be trusted. He needs a new one. (So delete the word “maybe.”)

  3. “Barr’s department could build these highly damaging cases against Giuliani,…”
    For instance? What exactly are the damages caused by Giuliani? I don’t get it. I get that he gets on your nerves. He’s not your kind of guy.
    I think he is a savvy, brilliant, hard-nosed animal who plays the game better than almost everyone. He took down the Mob. Yes, the RICO was essential, but the boy has a pair of iron ones. He cleaned up the sewer that was the city. I think he is highly skilled and knows the Law and how to maneuver his way through the courts as well as anybody.

    Trump likely uses his own team to supply the Post with bull to deflect what is really going on. Who “in the know” would betray Trump by sharing inside information with them?

  4. “…THE SECURITY OF A FREE STATE…”

    “…MEN ACTING BY VIRTUE OF POWERS MAY DO NOT ONLY WHAT THEIR POWERS DO NOT AUTHORIZE, BUT WHAT THEY FORBID.”
    _____________________________

    Attorney General William Barr is Mr. Deep Deep State.

    FBI Director Christopher Wray is the Son of Mr. Deep Deep State.

    And you thought Draining the Swamp was going to be neat, clean, tidy and easy.
    ________________________________________________________________

    “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

    – Dwight D. Eisenhower
    ___________________

    2nd Amendment

    “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
    _________

    “[A] limited Constitution … can be preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of courts of justice, whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing … To deny this would be to affirm … that men acting by virtue of powers may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid.”

    – Alexander Hamilton

  5. A few comments down this thread is an utterly pointless discussion concerning Heather Locklear and the movie “Animal House”. I

    It seems this discussion was triggered by a comment critical of Trump. Apparently some in-house conservative felt the need to compare the critic to an old shampoo commercial. Yuk, yuk, yuk.

    Anyone new to this blog should wonder why the comfort zones are so high for commenters whose only purpose is to turn off new readers. No one even halfway cool would want to hang on these threads.

    1. Tim:
      “Anyone new to this blog should wonder why the comfort zones are so high for commenters whose only purpose is to turn off new readers. No one even halfway cool would want to hang on these threads.”
      *******************
      Who should we call in your office to clear any new comments before publishing and how do we turn off the filter that “compels you” you read our old ones?

      1. “No one even halfway cool would want to hang out on these threads”.
        I occasionally “hang out” here, but if it is “uncool”, I will no longer hang out here.
        I wanna be one of the cool kids😎.

    2. Anyone new to the blog should recognize that this is Peter Shill who changes his name as frequently as an incontinent woman changes her panties.

      1. “…who changes his name as frequently as an incontinent woman changes her panties”

        Or an incontinent dude like Allan.

        1. Anonymous the Stupid, you don’t even wear panties so we can smell you coming and going.

            1. Anonymous the Stupid, I smelled that one coming as we all know that you have to copy what others say because you live up to your namesake Anonymous the Stupid. Start wearing panties or a diaper. You are a disgusting figure that stinks everything up wherever you go.

              1. Anonymous the Stupid continues copying the words from the posts of others. He is too Stupid to be original. Change your pants and your hat. Incontinence doesn’t make you more of a person. It only makes you stink.

              2. Anonymous @ 8:53 has it right. Gotta speak to “Allan the Stupid” in the language that he understands: AllanLanguage.

  6. Guiliane is not credentialed. He is without papers. I would not call him a WOP. That is an ethnic slur against Italians. He is a funny looking dork. Trump should appoint him to be head of the salvation army.

  7. Jonathan: AG William Barr may be counseling Trump to deep six Rudy Giuliani. But the guy who also needs to go is the AG himself. From the beginning of his appointment William Barr has been Trump’s “fixer”, his Roy Cohn. He sat on the Mueller report only releasing a redacted version and issued a 4 page summary that white washed Trump’s involvement in the Russian election meddling scandal. On Trump’s orders Barr appointed John Durham to look into the debunked theory that the FBI’s Russia probe was prompted by an anti-Trump bias by senior officials and that Ukraine, not Russia, was behind the plot to influence the 2016 election. Durham has apparently concluded there is no evidence to back up these false assertions and Michael Horowitz, the justice department’s inspector general, is expected to back up Durham’s conclusions. Barr has revealed himself to be a partisan hack–serving Trump’s political agenda rather than the impartial administration of justice. In the latest episode of Barr’s skewed view of law enforcement, he said last week, while presiding over a ceremony honoring police officers, that Americans “have to start showing, more than they do, the respect and support that law enforcement deserves, and if communities don’t give that support and respect, they might find themselves without the police protection they need”. Barr’s threat is clearly aimed at citizens in some cities demanding greater police accountability and an end to excessive use of force. Barr’s response is not to engage the public in such a debate but to threaten them if they don’t keep their mouths shut! Making such threats is below the standards one would expect from the Attorney General and undermines the efforts of police departments around the country to seriously deal with police accountability. Barr may be privately urging Trump to dump Giuliani because he anticipates the latter may soon be indicted. That would present Barr with a dilemma. If Giuliani is indicted Trump will scream bloody murder and demand Barr intervene. If Barr refuses we will be faced with another “Saturday night massacre”. Then we will see whether Barr’s allegiance to Trump “trumps” his duty to the fair administration of the law. I am not sanguine about the outcome.

    1. Durham has apparently concluded there is no evidence to back up these false assertions and Michael Horowitz, the justice department’s inspector general, is expected to back up Durham’s conclusions.

      That’s quite the exclusive you have there Dennis. Any chance you will be providing a source for that reporting?

    2. I agree and will say Barr needs to go. Listen to former DOJ prosecutors, FBI counter intelligence agents, DOJ District Attorneys and they will agree. Barr has no business talking to the so-called president about political affairs. In fact anybody that actually looked at his record and “job application” would have known he would be the “fixer”. Perhaps why repugthuglicans approved him.

      Barr’s threats last week were frankly chilling and basically he was calling for a police state, which the US is already well into.

      1. Barr has no business talking to the so-called president about political affairs.

        Oops. Your so-called opinion is rejected…again.

        Furnish advice and opinions, formal and informal, on legal matters to the President and the Cabinet and to the heads of the executive departments and agencies of the government, as provided by law.

      2. Sgt you dont sound “happy” being all chilled and stuff… No worries!

        Barr is a consummate professional

        1. Once again, sabai is happy. Not once since 2002 return to SE Asia have I heard sabai being used to describe womens clothing. And while you may be a ladyboy and wear womens clothing I don’t. But I do have ladyboy friends, would you like to meet some? Try to find some thing new to attempt to bad mouth.

    3. Dennis – Professor Turley’s analysis of the summary, the Mueller Report, and Barr is at odds to what you claim. You have provided no supporting evidence for your assertions.

    4. I think Bill Barr came back to the AG job seeing the demoralized state of DoJ, and felt he could right the ship. Fair or not, the image of the FBI/DoJ has always hinged on its highest-profile cases. They came out smelling like roses after the Boston Marathon bombing. But the Epstein case has been a black eye, and there’s been no arrests of any of his co-criminal human traffickers.
      Much is hinging on Durham’s ability to get to the bottom of the “predication” of the the FBI’s intrusive spying. One suspects that advanced techniques of spy tradecraft were employed to dupe the FBI into opening a case. It reamins to be seen if Durham can crack open the case.

  9. I hope the President appreciates the advice he is getting from Bill Barr. I believe the President has mishandled himself since the whistleblower revelation. He doesn’t seem to be taking any advice and is winging his communications in a dangerous manner. I’m guessing it’s been suggested many times that the President admit that asking for a favor of Zelinsky was perhaps not the best way to handle his concerns about possible corruption….that there was probably a better way to handle it. The President apologized after the Access Hollywood tape came out….I think he had Hope Hicks and Chris Christie telling him point blank that his campaign was over if he didn’t apologize immediately.

    The President has surrounded himself with true believers, and has insulated himself from political reality. If Articles are passed, he’ll be running against Mike Pence for President in the Senate, a battle he could lose though impulsivity.

    If Bill Barr gets to the point of resigning in disgust, I think the President will find himself slipping in the eyes of Republican Senators.

    1. He knows not to put blood on the water. There’s a reason you should never be heeded.

  10. Considering the source, I’d rate this as rumor. As for Barr, bear in mind that the role of the DOJ is to investigate and prosecute Federal crimes – period. Prior to the Grant administration, the attorney general’s role was to defend the Federal government in legal matters. Congress made the DOJ prosecutors in an attempt to prosecute the Klan (which had already disbanded!) Of course Barr can advise but he has no legal authority in relation to a president’s actions – except political.

  11. I agree and have further advise for Trump. Fire Barr. He isn’t going after the pedophile rings in this govt. and private corporations. Instead, he’s covering up and protecting the pedophiles in Epstein’s network, just as he covered up Iran Contra. Hint, that is because the IC is part of both. Hire someone as AG who will go after these people and expose the whole thing.

    1. What evidence do you have? Epstein was around for years but the only concern seems to have been whether Bill Clinton would get to the private island in time.

      1. Her last intervention here was to rail against imaginary Bolivian Nazis. Anti-psychotics contain the patient’s inclination to magical and delusional thinking. They often do not erase it.

          1. With some of these, I can’t quite make out if it’s Diane or the adipose hydrogen sulfide emitting orifice from Gainesville.

            1. DSS, It’s Anonymous the Stupid and that has some linkage to Diane and Fido along with the Brainless Wonder.

    2. here’s a couple thoughts on Jill’s seemingly crazy remark

      1. actually a lot of government employees do actually use their computers for illegal porn

      https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Passcode/2016/1205/Child-porn-on-government-devices-A-hidden-security-threat

      “December 5, 2016

      By Aliya Sternstein Correspondent
      @AliyaSternstein
      Daniel Payne, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Service, admitted this spring to encountering “unbelievable” amounts of child pornography on government computers.

      The comment came during an event in Virginia where military and intelligence officials gathered to address threats posed by federal workers. Mr. Payne, who spent much of his career in senior CIA and intelligence community roles before taking the Pentagon post, wanted to stress the value of monitoring employees’ systems to ensure they remained fit to handle top-secret information.

      But the revelation raised many more troubling questions. Who was downloading the sexually explicit and criminal material? How much of it was on intelligence agency networks? And why didn’t the federal government deploy more robust technologies to keep child pornography from spreading on its networks?”

      2. entrapment is a tool of both regular law enforcement and intelligence operations

      hence, we know there are blackmail and honeypot schemes, and there’s reason to believe that the original light sentence imposed on jeff epstein may have been mandated from some obscure figure inside the “intelligence community” as the stories about the review of that plea deal revealed. but they did not reveal much more. who knows what the score was with that one.

      also, the FBI has been known to operate illegal porn operations covertly for a long time after seizing them to reel in more perps. So, there is always a sort of question of is that being abused somehow and should not continue as it arguably perpetuates the very problem.

      https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/fbis-massive-porn-sting-puts-internet-privacy-in-crossfire/

      I would say notwithstanding those two things, Barr is certainly NOT at fault with any such existing problems. There is no basis for that in fact.

  12. The statement “…the Post is reporting that various sources have confirmed” is a primary tactic of the smear machine which isthe mainstream media and the Democrat party pitted against conservatives. It is a logical fallacy and doesn’t belong in any actual analysis of any issue. It only belongs in gossip rags, which is why the WaPo would print it.

    This type of smear was also the substantiation by top level FBA/CIA/NSA operatives used as a political weapon against the Trump campaign as well as numerous other Republican campaigns. PLEASE ABSTAIN FROM USING SUCH WEAK LOGIC.

  14. I have to ask myself why does Professor Turley place so much faith in the Washington Post that he lets them dictate his opinions? The Washington Post writes: ” “he was not being well-served by his lawyer, one person with knowledge of the episode said.” After so many Washington Post anonymous sources that have been proven false one would think Turley would base his opinions on something with a better reputation.

    It is totally understandable that the styles of Giuliani and Trump diverge from the Turley style but Trump with Giuliani at his side hasn’t done some of the awful anti Democratic things of the Obama administration did and the economy and the American people have prospered. There is something to be said in favor of success rather than in favor of the failures of an administration like the Obama Administration.

    Barr seems to function like a no funny business type of guy and that is a good way to be for the Attorney General to be rather than one that sneaks a meeting on the tarmac for an episode of collusion. I don’t think professor Turley would look unkindly on Barr’s character but perhaps he would with a Lynch or Holder.

  15. The story is quite believable.

    Really? When you put together the two phrases, The Washington Post and various sources, nothing that follows should ever be considered quite believable.

  16. I have repeatedly tweeted over the past year, that in the end, President Trump will prove to be the least guilty person in all of the DC Swamp.

  17. Rather puzzled at your interest in news stories supposedly drawn from anonymous sources (which cannot be facially distinguished by fictions drawn up by the reporter and his editors). Especially, now, when the media’s lack of integrity could hardly be more manifest.

    1. TIA:
      From the WaPo:
      “In several conversations in recent months, Attorney General William P. Barr has counseled Trump in general terms that Giuliani has become a liability and a problem for the administration, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations. In one discussion, the attorney general warned the president that he was not being well-served by his lawyer, one person with knowledge of the episode said.”
      ********************
      Can anyone really do any better than “multiple people familiar with the conversations,” or “one person with knowledge of the episode” ? Not “personal knowledge,” mind you. Sort of like “heard from a friend who heard it from another friend, you been messing around.” WaPo is the new “Hollywood Confidential.” Where’s Hedda Hopper when you need her?

      2. Or, on the reality of this planet, professional journalists protect the identity of their sources. If the outstanding professional journalists who grace the Washington Post were to say, for example, their source was sitting in the oval office and witnessed the day glo bozo commit today’s felony, the source would be outed. That’s a result that the cream of American journalism would not favor.

        to mespo

        1. Marky Mark Mark – none of those professional journalists are screaming about an award-winning journalist’s phone records being exposed.

        2. Marky Mark:
          So outstanding in fact, that newspaper readership is at the 1949 levels.

          1. Assuming arguendo your assertion is even remotely accurate, how is such relevant?

            to “its imperative to talk about anything but the day glo bozo’s criminogenic tendencies” mespo

      1. Olly:

        “Perhaps Turley needs to write posts like these to keep his publication channels open.”
        *****************

        Could be, but I doubt it. Turley is too smart to accept the press at face value especially given the vitriol he just got from the confederacy of dunces the press has become. Dana Milbank? Pleeease. Likely he’s undergoing liberal withdrawal — It’s when you finally see what feet of clay your ideology has but you just can’t bear to make that last separating cut. You hold on to tenets that are daily disproved out of some sense of loyalty to the past. it happens. People grow.

        1. Likely he’s undergoing liberal withdrawal…

          If true, imagine the scope of intervention necessary to achieve the same outcome with the rest of the country.

  18. “Barr has tried to maintain the peace with the White House and get the Department back on terra firma. He has done well in the balance while protecting the Mueller and Durham investigations.” What? no WTF?!!! Barr is nothing but the bloated fascist’s fixer. He has always been a bad Attorney General back to the Bush the Elder period when he came up with a plan to destroy the Iran-Contra scandal. He has made the Department of Justice a political tool of the bloated fascist. He tried to burn Mueller and to this day refuses to release the entire report, he travels around the world trying to burn his own dept. people and the FBI. Note: I’m no fan of the Fumbling Bureau of Idiots having dealt with them on both sides of the law. Professor perhaps you should go back and read some law and the Constitution.

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