William Barr and his spin conference

Some top of mind front page media reports conclude that William Barr gave an unethical "spin conference" to cover up misdeeds by the Donald Trump "Russia if you are listening" illegal campaign's communications and dirty tricks. Obviously, the Donald Trump world is a place of cerebral fog. He lives above the law as though it will never apply to him. In fact, Trump lives by "Trumpzi law",  because he has no regard for the rule of law. Even worse, Trumpzi right wing red hat followers are stupid enough to believe every word uttered by the man behind the curtain.  Barr should never have spoken to the press without giving them the opportunity to read the redacted Mueller Report.

Echo reports clips from The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

Donald Trump is a terrible "man behind the curtain" and a failed leader; moreover, his followers are, frankly, stupid because, for some dangerously strange reason, they believe his smoke and mirrors rhetoric. Who would ever have thought of the "Wizard of Oz" analogy as being weirdly prophetic?

"Barr’s news conference 'seemed appears designed to shape public perceptions of the report before anyone can read it'....”?- The Washington Post

Mueller rejects idea that Trump is shielded from obstruction lawsDemocrats were right: William Barr spoke too soon about the Mueller report 

by Michael McGough 

On Wednesday before the Barr "spin conference", Democrats in Congress complained that (#fakeBarr) Atty. Gen. William Barr would be holding a news conference about special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report before the document was actually released. Several chairs of House committees called the news conference “unnecessary and inappropriate” and warned that it “appears designed to shape public perceptions of the report before anyone can read it.”

Were the Democrats right? After watching Barr deliver a prepared statement and spar with reporters, I think their general critique holds up: Barr should have postponed his presser until after reporters (and the public) had time to read, or at least skim, the report. (MaineWriter- IMO it was a failed cover up to try and upstage the morning television pundits. Vaudeville performers would've done a much better job at presenting the spin conference.)

Despite speculation that Barr would discuss only peripheral issues such as whether he had discussed the report with the White House and whether executive privilege was invoked, in fact Barr’s comments ranged much more widely.

Barr rehashed the summary of Mueller’s findings that he earlier had included in a March 24 letter to the chairs of the House and Senate judiciary committees, but he also touched on other matters.

For example, he endorsed the idea that certain actions by Donald Trump must be understood in light of the fact that, as he entered office, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his actions and the news media were engaging in “relentless speculation” about his culpability.

“There is substantial evidence to show that Trump was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency,” Barr said, “propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks.” Bear in mind that Mueller did not get the chance to interview Trump.

Once reporters began questioning Barr, it was obvious that they were at a disadvantage because they hadn’t had an opportunity to read the report. That vindicates the Democrats’ criticism that the news conference was “inappropriate” — or at least ill-timed.

What about the Democrats’ other complaint — that Barr’s news conference “seemed appears designed to shape public perceptions of the report before anyone can read it”?

That criticism also turned out to be prophetic. In addition to emphasizing how much pressure Trump was under because of investigations, Barr repeatedly asserted that there was “no collusion,” mouthing Trump’s favorite claim of vindication.

Barr will face further questions about the report and his gloss of it after the document is released, including interrogation by Congress. He said that he would testify before House and Senate committees. Those panels will have the benefit of having read Mueller’s report; journalists should have had the same opportunity.

The Washington Post
Donald Trump, upon first learning of the appointment of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, cursed and declared, “this is the end of my presidency,” according to the redacted 400-page reportby Mueller released Thursday by the Justice Department.

The detailed document depicts a Trump campaign that expected to “benefit electorally” from information stolen and released by Russia and a president who subsequently engaged in several alarming actions, including seeking the ouster of former officials and ordering a memo that would clear his name.

The release of the report followed a news conference at which Attorney General William P. Barr exonerated Trump, saying neither he nor his campaign colluded with Russia and that none of Trump’s actions rose to the level of obstruction of justice, despite Mueller leaving that question unanswered in his report.

Mueller's key findings
● Mueller rejects the argument that the president is shielded from obstruction laws.

●Trump, when told of appointment of special counsel Mueller, said: “This is the end of my presidency.”

● “Substantial evidence” supports Comey over Trump in account of Flynn meeting.

●Trump campaign attempted to obtain Hillary Clinton’s private emails.

● Campaign expected to benefit from stolen information released by the Russians.

To summarize, the Mueller Report described in detail a litany of obstruction of justice situations where Donald Trump was clearly engaged in illegal communications with the Russians via his close surrogates. There is no doubt whatsoever that Russia invaded the 2016 Presidential campaign and got away with conducting a propaganda campaign that worked on the minds of vulnerable and skeptical voters.  Paul Manafort even fed insider 2016 campaign data with Konstantine Kilimnik who is believed by CNN and The New York Times to be "Person A" listed in court documents filed by the Special Counsel against Manafort, which allege that Person A has ties to Russian intelligence agencies, or is a Russian intelligence operative. 

MaineWriter post script - When Donald Trump summoned "Russia if you are listening", obviously they were doing so; and, as a matter of fact, they are still listening, while throwing "Nastrovia!" vodka shots in the Kremlin.