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Trump's Attorney General Orders that Investigations into Presidential Candidates Now Require His Written Approval
07 February 2020
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
With President Donald Trump officially acquitted in the impeachment trial against him, Attorney General William Barr is taking steps to make sure his boss never has to endure basic accountability again.
Barr issued a memo to Justice Department officials with guidelines for conducting investigations into politically notable individuals. Among the new rules?
Any investigations into a presidential candidate will require his written approval.
<p><strong>According to the memo, the Justice Department</strong></p><blockquote><em>"has a strong interest in the prosecution of election-related crimes, including those involving corruption of the election process...[W]</em><em>e must investigate and prosecute those matters with sensitivity and care to ensure that the department's actions do not unnecessarily advantage or disadvantage any candidate or political party."</em></blockquote><p>This should be concerning to anyone who's been following Barr's tenure as Attorney General.</p><p>Barr <a href="https://secondnexus.com/news/william-barr-misled-quote-mueller-report" target="_blank">underplayed the findings</a> of the Mueller Report in an effort to keep the entire document from the public. His Justice Department has been arguing in court that a sitting President can't be indicted and that, therefore, a sitting President should be <a href="https://secondnexus.com/news/trump-lawyer-fifth-avenue-immunity" target="_blank">shielded from all investigations</a> on every crime (even murder). Barr was also implicated in the Ukraine scandal by Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas.</p><p>Though the cause for an investigation would likely rise through official channels before reaching Barr's desk, an investigation cannot begin until Barr expressly gives his approval.</p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p>This could theoretically give him the authority to sign off on an investigation into Democratic presidential contenders in the 2020 election. It would also give him the authority to deny an investigation into his boss, Donald Trump.</p><p>In a time of normalcy—when an impartial Attorney General could be trusted to serve the country instead of the President—some would consider this heightened scrutiny an improvement, but Barr's track record indicates that he's willing to use the Justice Department to shield the President from accountability for illegal and unethical activities.</p><p><strong>For that reason, this new rule didn't sit too well with people.</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="34e21" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0DGQ071581107992"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1225564536868163584" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Oh look, a way to conceal Trump's upcoming election meddling https://t.co/wX4BtX4L3Q</div> — Jeff Simard (@Jeff Simard)<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffsimard422/statuses/1225564536868163584">1581032330.0</a></blockquote></div>
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</p><div id="42465" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5W446U1581107992"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1225677189862936576" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">American democracy and rule of law are crumbling under the weight of the corrupt Trump regime. https://t.co/moNtKsXe1r</div> — Geoffrey P. Johnston😎🇨🇦 (@Geoffrey P. Johnston😎🇨🇦)<a href="https://twitter.com/GeoffyPJohnston/statuses/1225677189862936576">1581059188.0</a></blockquote></div>
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</p><div id="fc5a3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ZC44T1581107992"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1225798903959891968" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">And America takes one step closer to a dictatorship... https://t.co/sxrKrMXVJt</div> — ze_Cat (@ze_Cat)<a href="https://twitter.com/Poker_Spaz/statuses/1225798903959891968">1581088207.0</a></blockquote></div>
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</p><div id="cbb99" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="X604FD1581107992"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1225582963011784705" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Everything is just so blatantly ridiculous. https://t.co/o3X2092ZrL</div> — Missy Sayers (@Missy Sayers)<a href="https://twitter.com/missy_sayers/statuses/1225582963011784705">1581036723.0</a></blockquote></div>
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</p><div id="99ca2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="QN3ZYE1581107992"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1225561066928607233" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">This effectively stops any and all investigations into trump & admin, bc trump is a presidential candidate https://t.co/Etbnsi7BxH</div> — Jessica (@Jessica)<a href="https://twitter.com/JMBWells/statuses/1225561066928607233">1581031502.0</a></blockquote></div>
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</p><div id="a2c16" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AG3Y4O1581107992"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1225676987840073729" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The Trump regime is changing the rules of the game post-impeachment to ensure that it will be harder to hold the Pr… https://t.co/b14oWDWlYe</div> — Geoffrey P. Johnston😎🇨🇦 (@Geoffrey P. Johnston😎🇨🇦)<a href="https://twitter.com/GeoffyPJohnston/statuses/1225676987840073729">1581059140.0</a></blockquote></div>
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</p><div id="f4d8d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RCIP2A1581107993"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1225558200075849728" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Nothing to see here, folks. Just an AG writing a memo to say that only one person in all the land—a person who is n… https://t.co/YNouR8ZVtA</div> — Jonathon Lance (@Jonathon Lance)<a href="https://twitter.com/JonathonLance/statuses/1225558200075849728">1581030819.0</a></blockquote></div>
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</p><div id="08cdf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="H1SX521581107993"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1225576255740923904" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">So basically a free pass to do absolutely anything until after the election.
Democrats should take note. https://t.co/Nr2l0g9eAD</div> — Jay Zarqa 20/20 (@Jay Zarqa 20/20)<a href="https://twitter.com/YarmoukZarqa/statuses/1225576255740923904">1581035124.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>The 2020 election just became even more urgent. <a href="https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/" target="_blank">Check your voter registration status here</a>.</p><p>For a Republican strategist's thoughts on how best to defeat Trump, check out <em>Running Against the Devil <strong></strong><strong></strong></em>by Rick Wilson, <a href="https://amzn.to/2tHK2na" target="_blank">available here</a>.</p>
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