Despite a public condemnation by Attorney General Bill Barr, President Donald Trump is back tweeting and atacking a wide range of Justice Department attorneys and investigations. That includes the recently resigned prosecutors in the case of Trump associate Roger Stone. These irresponsible tweets continue undermine Barr and magnify the problems for the Administration with both the courts and Congress.
President Trump lashed out this morning in the tweet series below.
In the tweets, he not only insists that the “Everything having to do with this fraudulent investigation is badly tainted and, in my opinion, should be thrown out” but adds that he may sue everyone involved.
Once again, it is difficult to comprehend the meaning, let along the purpose, of such tweets. Nothing can be “thrown out” in the Mueller investigation in that the report is complete and no conviction was based on its findings. Any convictions were the result of separate trials that were based on grand jury and other information made part of those records. As for suing everyone, such lawsuit could be technically filed but would be quickly rejected as frivolous.
Some of us agree with the criticism of the Russian investigation, a criticism that has been reinforced by findings that there was no probable cause for the renewal of the FISA surveillance and there was no collusion with Russia. In addition, the investigations by the Inspector General found considerable and raw bias by key players in the investigation.
That brings us back to the purpose. This is obviously putting Barr in an impossible position, as he stated publicly. Indeed, Barr stated just two days ago, that “I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases. I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody … whether it’s Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president.” He added “I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.”
It would seem like Trump is fully aware that the tweets could be viewed as calling Barr’s bluff, if he thinks it was a bluff. It would seem obvious that this would create pressure on Barr to either resign from his office or resign himself to Trump’s tirades. That would be a huge mistake for Trump, but Trump may still be angry over being publicly criticized. Whatever his intent, the tweets further paint Barr into a corner either by default or design.
Here are the tweets:
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
These were Mueller prosecutors, and the whole Mueller investigation was illegally set up based on a phony and now fully discredited Fake Dossier, lying and forging documents to the FISA Court, and many other things. Everything having to do with this fraudulent investigation is…32.9K8:14 AM – Feb 18, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy14.1K people are talking about this
“Everything having to do with this fraudulent investigation is badly tainted and, in my opinion, should be thrown out,” Trump continued, while slamming Mueller himself and claiming he lied to Congress about whether he sought to lead the FBI.
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump · 2h
These were Mueller prosecutors, and the whole Mueller investigation was illegally set up based on a phony and now fully discredited Fake Dossier, lying and forging documents to the FISA Court, and many other things. Everything having to do with this fraudulent investigation is…
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
….badly tainted and, in my opinion, should be thrown out. Even Mueller’s statement to Congress that he did not see me to become the FBI Director (again), has been proven false. The whole deal was a total SCAM. If I wasn’t President, I’d be suing everyone all over the place…24.2K8:14 AM – Feb 18, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy8,625 people are talking about this
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump · 2hReplying to @realDonaldTrump
….badly tainted and, in my opinion, should be thrown out. Even Mueller’s statement to Congress that he did not see me to become the FBI Director (again), has been proven false. The whole deal was a total SCAM. If I wasn’t President, I’d be suing everyone all over the place…
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
….BUT MAYBE I STILL WILL. WITCH HUNT!22.6K8:14 AM – Feb 18, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy10.2K people are talking about this