Bill Barr and his October Surprise

[Skeptic Ginger]

Originally Posted by kookbreaker

You must have missed the news! Turns out that on November 5th Hunter was crushed by a huge pile of his own laptops.

I'd nom this but I fear we may have used up our Hunter laptop joke allotment.

[Trebuchet]

Originally Posted by DevilsAdvocate

Those Hunter laptops disappeared faster than Colorado drones.

And the 2018 caravans!

[The Great Zaganza]

Someone at a press conference should ask Rudy about it.

I think it's safe to say that it was the Hunter laptops that were used to change the votes.

[varwoche]

Imagine a special edition of Clue, the board game.

It was Hunter Biden, in the pizza parlor, with a laptop.

[Stacyhs]

Those children were drowned in Rudy's hair dye sweat! Think of the children!

[Firestone]

The jokes are fine, but, seriously, I'm still surprised at the lack of any real "October Surprise" from the Trump camp.
Didn't see that coming at all.

[Stacyhs]

Originally Posted by Firestone

The jokes are fine, but, seriously, I'm still surprised at the lack of any real "October Surprise" from the Trump camp.
Didn't see that coming at all.

Biden's been in politics too long for any dirty laundry he may have had not to have been aired already. They already dragged out everything they had and it went nowhere. Besides, they're the most incompetent bunch of morons out there.

[Captain_Swoop]

Where is Bill?

He's been very quiet lately.

[kookbreaker]

Originally Posted by Captain_Swoop

Where is Bill?

He's been very quiet lately.

After Trump loyalists started picketing his home he realized he was in the SA and not the SS.

[eerok]

As far as I've seen, Barr has always been weird and a coward. He's probably hiding under his bed, smelling his old socks.

[Skeptic Ginger]

Originally Posted by eerok

As far as I've seen, Barr has always been weird and a coward. He's probably hiding under his bed, smelling his old socks.

I would guess holed up at the Federalists Society where he is well known and the kids love to sit around the chair he's slumped back in and listen to his End Times stories where God smites all the commies.

[Stacyhs]

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

I would guess holed up at the Federalists Society where he is well known and the kids love to sit around the chair he's slumped back in and listen to his End Times stories where God smites all the commies.

Ah....such wonderful bedtime stories.

[Craig4]

I wish he was out in public more so we could enjoy his predicament. Trump is I'm sure, furious with him for his failure to produce an October surprise or come up with any election fraud. The US attorneys responded to his instruction to investigate election "irregularities" with a rousing, "Yeah, I'll get right on that". His boss is pissed and his workforce is in open revolt. It's kind of fun to watch. A fitting end for the person who ordered the police to attack peaceful protestors.

[Stacyhs]

Barr is likely just staying on the down low as much as possible right now riding out his time until he hands in his resignation. Staying away from Trump is the best thing he can do.

[Hlafordlaes]

Who, Fred Flintstone? He's out riding dinos with Jesus.

[CORed]

Originally Posted by Tero

I've lost track of the surprize. What was it? If it was Hunter laptops, how many was the final count?

Well, the last time I guessed that they really had a laptop that they had obtained somehow, though I had serious doubts about the "he abandoned it at a repair shop" story. At this point, given that all that was released was the contents of (not sure of exact number) 5 or 6 emails, I am completely unconvinced that there ever even was a laptop. I suspect that the emails thery released (obtained by who knows what means) were all they ever had.

Are we really supposed to believe that they had evidence that Hunter was fooling with underaged girls, that they would not have released it?

[CORed]

Originally Posted by The Great Zaganza

Someone at a press conference should ask Rudy about it.

I think it's safe to say that it was the Hunter laptops that were used to change the votes.

That's right. The ghost of Hugo Chavez helped Hunter Biden use his laptops to hack the voting machines to change all the votes from black people in Detroit and Philadelphia from Trump to Biden. Because Hunter's a drug addict, he forgot to fix the House and Senate votes while he was at it.

[Horatius]

Originally Posted by CORed

That's right. The ghost of Hugo Chavez helped Hunter Biden use his laptops to hack the voting machines to change all the votes from black people in Detroit and Philadelphia from Trump to Biden. Because Hunter's a drug addict, he forgot to fix the House and Senate votes while he was at it.

Sadly, your attempt at sarcasm is actually far more plausible than their actual accusations.

[sts60]

It will be incorporated as-is in Sidney Powell’s next lawsuit.

[CORed]

Originally Posted by Horatius

Sadly, your attempt at sarcasm is actually far more plausible than their actual accusations.

You know, it's really hard to parody people whose claims already sound like parodies.

[Trebuchet]

Originally Posted by CORed

You know, it's really hard to parody people whose claims already sound like parodies.

Thats the whole basis of Poe's Law.

[Firestone]

Barr's December surprise: Durham becomes a "special counsel" in Russia probe investigation.

Biden's AG gets a poisoned present.

Quote:

Attorney General William Barr has given extra protection to the prosecutor he appointed to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, giving him the authority of a special counsel to complete the work without being easily fired.
...
In an Oct. 19 order, obtained by The Associated Press, Barr says Durham is authorized “to investigate whether any federal official, employee or any person or entity violated the law in connection with the intelligence, counter-intelligence or law enforcement activities” directed at the 2016 presidential campaigns, anyone associated with the campaigns or the Trump administration.

https://apnews.com/article/election-...6fbf9fc49c3239

The regulation for Special Counsel states "The Special Counsel shall be selected from outside the United States Government." https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/600.3
That's obviously not the case with Durham, currently US Attorney for Connecticut.

That may make it easier for Biden's AG to get rid of Durham, if (s)he so wishes.

[Horatius]

You want an actual surprise for December?

William Barr says there is no evidence of widespread fraud in presidential election

[PhantomWolf]

Originally Posted by Horatius

You want an actual surprise for December?

William Barr says there is no evidence of widespread fraud in presidential election

Has Trump tweeted his firing yet?

[Mader Levap]

Originally Posted by Horatius

You want an actual surprise for December?

William Barr says there is no evidence of widespread fraud in presidential election

This is not surprising for me.

Rotting USA into rigthwing authoritarian state is proceeding nicely - Biden is just temporary setback, not first, not last. These guys play long, multidecade game, from convincing people to vote against their best interests to actual election fraud in many, more or less legal forms like voting surpression.

And then there goes Trump breaking toys, throwing tantrums and creating non-zero chance it all will go off rails, not necessarily in direction wished by rethuglicans.

[Craig4]

Originally Posted by Firestone

Barr's December surprise: Durham becomes a "special counsel" in Russia probe investigation.

Biden's AG gets a poisoned present.




The regulation for Special Counsel states "The Special Counsel shall be selected from outside the United States Government." https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/600.3
That's obviously not the case with Durham, currently US Attorney for Connecticut.

That may make it easier for Biden's AG to get rid of Durham, if (s)he so wishes.

It would be better to just make Durham a drone in sector 7g and ignore him. Don't fire him but don't have time on the calendar for him either. Benign neglect will just make it fade away.

[marting]

Originally Posted by Firestone

B
The regulation for Special Counsel states "The Special Counsel shall be selected from outside the United States Government." https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/600.3
That's obviously not the case with Durham, currently US Attorney for Connecticut.

That may make it easier for Biden's AG to get rid of Durham, if (s)he so wishes.

Perhaps not. There's a way around 600.3

https://twitter.com/steve_vladeck/st...82385247694849

[Skeptic Ginger]

Originally Posted by Firestone

Barr's December surprise: Durham becomes a "special counsel" in Russia probe investigation.

Biden's AG gets a poisoned present.

The regulation for Special Counsel states "The Special Counsel shall be selected from outside the United States Government." https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/600.3
That's obviously not the case with Durham, currently US Attorney for Connecticut.

That may make it easier for Biden's AG to get rid of Durham, if (s)he so wishes.

No. Barr passed the buck in a trick move. There is no evidence there that Obama spied on Trump's campaign. If there had been you know it would have been out there already, even if it was weak evidence.

There is evidence the FBI has been a little sloppy applying for FISA warrants. We've known that for several years now. That's all there is to see folks. A scapegoat or two at most, probably doing what everyone's been doing for years.

Barr didn't have the courage to tell Trump there was no there there. Now he's washing his hands of it. Maybe he has a couple news agencies tricked into describing it as an investigation Biden can't stop. But who says Biden cares? He knows there was no there there.

And I've already read that nothing was going to involve anybody at the top like Obama or Biden.

D'uh.

[Firestone]

Originally Posted by Craig4

It would be better to just make Durham a drone in sector 7g and ignore him. Don't fire him but don't have time on the calendar for him either. Benign neglect will just make it fade away.

That's probably what the Biden admin will do.

At least keep Durham until most nominees have been confirmed by the Senate.

Barr's trick to appoint Durham not as Special Counsel, but then use his authority as AG to apply the special counsel regulations to the appointment, is clever only at first glance.
The next AG can use the same authority to rescind the regulation for Durham, and then fire him.

The whole exercise is really just adding a "problem" for Biden. It will be used by Republicans for one more "outrage session" if and when Durham is fired. No big deal, and probably not in the top 50 of poison pills Trump will leave for Biden and the US.

[Armitage72]

Originally Posted by PhantomWolf

Has Trump tweeted his firing yet?

Various right wing pundits have opened fire, so it's probably just a matter of time.

Quote:

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, whose conspiratorial program is a favorite of the president, attacked Barr in brutal terms on his show. "For the attorney general of the United States to make that statement — he is either a liar or a fool or both," Dobbs said. Dobbs then went further, suggesting Barr was "perhaps compromised." He characterized Barr as having "appeared to join in with the radical Dems and the deep-state and the resistance."

Quote:

Newsmax host Greg Kelly, who has risen to fame in right-wing media circles in the last few weeks for suggesting Trump could emerge as the winner of the election, went after Barr on his show. "Some of us are wondering if he is a warrior with the Constitution or if he's just a bureaucrat," Kelly said. Kelly added that he "can't believe" if Barr "looked for voter fraud he wouldn't find any." And Mark Levin said he "regret[ted] to say" that Barr's comments were "misleading."

Quote:

The Gateway Pundit, a fringe website which Trump has repeatedly promoted, published a post that said Barr had revealed himself as "totally deaf, dumb and blind." The post went on to say that Barr's "masquerade as someone opposed to the criminality of the Deep State" had been "exposed as a venal lie" and that he was a "fraud." It concluded, "You either fix the damn corrupt system or we will abandon you...Our days of tolerating betrayal are over."

[Darat]

"appeared to join in with the radical Dems and the deep-state and the resistance" AKA "reality"

[Dave Rogers]

"Some of us are wondering if he is a warrior with the Constitution" - is that intended to imply that Kelly feels he should properly be at war with the Constitution? That may be a truth he didn't mean to reveal.

Dave

[Segnosaur]

Originally Posted by Craig4

It would be better to just make Durham a drone in sector 7g and ignore him. Don't fire him but don't have time on the calendar for him either. Benign neglect will just make it fade away.

To me, the 2 questions are...
- How much integrity does Durham have? Will he go over the top and try to find fraud where none exists in support of Trumpism, or actually look at evidence (or lack of it)

- Does he have the ability to actually prosecute people during the course of his investigation. (I think he does, but I'm not 100% sure.)

In the worst-case scenario, he could be problematic if he decided to run around charging people "just because", which would make it hard to ignore him.

[marting]

Interesting to see the power cognitive dissonance has. Believers in the grand conspiracy to steal the election from DJT have convinced themselves through the echo chambers of Facebook, Twitter, Parlor, and associated websites that the evidence is simply indisputable.

Thus AG Barr's comment that the DOJ, which includes the FBI, hasn't found evidence of fraud that would rise to the level of changing the election outcome, is simply inconceivable.

Therefore it's seen as just more evidence of how great a hold the anti-Trump deep state has and Barr must either be a knowing part of it or incompetent.

The power of cognitive dissonance boggles the mind.

[Horatius]

Quote:

Barr had revealed himself as "totally deaf, dumb and blind."

"...but on the plus side, he sure plays a mean pinball!"

[CORed]

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

No. Barr passed the buck in a trick move. There is no evidence there that Obama spied on Trump's campaign. If there had been you know it would have been out there already, even if it was weak evidence.

There is evidence the FBI has been a little sloppy applying for FISA warrants. We've known that for several years now. That's all there is to see folks. A scapegoat or two at most, probably doing what everyone's been doing for years.

Barr didn't have the courage to tell Trump there was no there there. Now he's washing his hands of it. Maybe he has a couple news agencies tricked into describing it as an investigation Biden can't stop. But who says Biden cares? He knows there was no there there.

And I've already read that nothing was going to involve anybody at the top like Obama or Biden.

D'uh.

Well my advice to Joe Biden would be to let the investigation run its course, unless it turns into a full blown Ken Starr type massive fishing expedition. If he tries to fire the special counsel, or otherwise hinder his investigation, he just makes it look like there is something to hide. If some FBI agents didn't follow proper procedure, deal with them accordingly.

[Horatius]

Originally Posted by Mader Levap

This is not surprising for me.

Rotting USA into rigthwing authoritarian state is proceeding nicely - Biden is just temporary setback, not first, not last. These guys play long, multidecade game, from convincing people to vote against their best interests to actual election fraud in many, more or less legal forms like voting surpression.

And then there goes Trump breaking toys, throwing tantrums and creating non-zero chance it all will go off rails, not necessarily in direction wished by rethuglicans.

I didn't expect Barr to come out in support of Trump's nonsense. I pretty much knew Barr wasn't stupid enough to make allegations he knew he couldn't support in court.

But it is surprising that he pro-actively contradicted Trump. There was really no need for him to do that, and as you said, he and his type usually don't have any problem just letting the rot continue unabated. And that's why calling out Trump like this is such a surprise.

I suppose he could be trying to polish his public image, but it seems slightly delusional for him to think that is possible at this point.

[Ziggurat]

Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger

There is evidence the FBI has been a little sloppy applying for FISA warrants.

Deliberately forging documents is "a little sloppy"? That's an understatement.

[The Great Zaganza]

Originally Posted by Ziggurat

Deliberately forging documents is "a little sloppy"? That's an understatement.

you are being overly dramatic - which is interesting, given that you seem to be unusually blase about whatever Trump does.

Multiple investigations have shown that the "forging" was neither large nor significant: nothing would have changed if it hadn't happened, except for one less guilty plea and probably dismissal.

Don't you think that this would have been a bigger deal, legally, if it was as bad as you make it out to be?

Remember: Barr himself said that this was a nothingburger.

[Mader Levap]

Originally Posted by Horatius

But it is surprising that he pro-actively contradicted Trump. There was really no need for him to do that, and as you said, he and his type usually don't have any problem just letting the rot continue unabated.

My point is that destruction caused by Trump may be slightly at odds with what republicans actually want. Think about it as Evil vs Evil trope.

You see, multi-decade long, slow rot into authoritarian state won't really cause any massive opposition. Frog in boiling water syndrome. This is why they do it like that. Patience is rewarded.

On other hand, sudden change (like declaring Trump POTUS against not only popular vote, but also electoral vote) will cause mass riots, violence and serious calls for significant reform of system... and last item, however unlikely, is absolute threat to rethuglicans and their goals.

This is where republican and Trump interests are at odds.

Right now, Trump is useful for Republican party only for Georgia runoffs. After that, they would really want to drop Trump like used condom, but obviously it is rather hard to do without pissing off his base of deplorables. Sure, their amount should be smaller after 20 Jan, but republicans still cannot afford alienating them.