Barr’s allegiance to the boss is breathtaking

I’ve spent a good part of my morning on a beautiful Pacific Northwest day listening to some of the testimony of Attorney General William Barr. Nothing that transpired in that hearing changed any of my opinions regarding Mr. Barr. He was evasive, effusive in his defense of President Trump, and parsed his words with the eloquence one would expect  of someone who has been around the block a few times as a lawyer. In other words, for the audience at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, he did the job that the resident of that address surely appreciated.

And, the hearing of course played out exactly as one might expect. The Democrats on the panel asked probing questions, trying to pin Barr down on some of his weakest positions. Much of the discussion centered on Robert Mueller’s letter objecting to Barr’s four-page summary of The Report, which was leaked to the media last night and the overall public today. And the Republicans on the panel did what they do best: defend and protect the President of the United States.

At present time, Barr is supposed to appear before the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow morning. We don’t know as of yet, whether he is going to honor that request. It appears that Barr is objecting to the House Democrats using outside attorneys to question him on some of the specific issues in The Mueller Report. This by the way, is nothing unusual. It has happened often in the past, where committee members will rely on actual attorneys–not the politicians on the panel–to ask questions in certain situations. Why Barr is objecting to such a thing is anyones guess. But when it comes to this Attorney General and this presidential administration, nothing is out the realm. In other words, expect the worst and hope for the best.

Time and time again, they continue to delay and obstruct ongoing investigations and hearings. There will come a point in time where this is all going to come to a head. I realize that impeachment is a process that we should never enter into until it’s absolutely necessary. But the way this whole thing is playing out before our own eyes, are we not dangerously close already?

As stated before in this column, I’ve read The Mueller Report. I know many Americans will not do so. I can’t blame them. It’s over 400 pages and takes several hours of dedicated time to get through it. Time is so precious for most of us. Life has a way of throwing roadblocks at you on a daily basis.

That’s why it’s imperative that the Democrats continue to press–and press hard, to get the relevant facts out to the public in an informative and expeditious manner. Summer will be hear before we know it, and again, many people will not be paying attention. But that cannot get in the way of doing what’s right.

I remember Watergate. I wasn’t yet a teenager when those hearings were going on. My fifth grade teacher would wheel in a big cart with a cheap television set on top, and turn the hearings on for the class to observe. I came from a family that paid attention to politics, so I was one of the few kids who actually paid attention. To this day, I’ll never forget how things transpired over a two-year period. The evidence came out and slowly but surely, public pressure turned in favor of impeachment.

I realize that in those days we basically had three major television networks, and that was it. We’re so much more fragmented these days in how we get and receive information. It’s not as easy to grab the American people’s attention these days. That’s no reason to not pursue the truth however.

I did see some fire and brimstone from the Democrats today. And that’s exactly what it’s going to take. President Trump is a formidable adversary for Democrats. Yep, I said it. There’s been nobody like him in my lifetime, or anyone else’s for that matter. He lies, without fear of retribution or consequences to such an extent that it makes investigating him all the more challenging.

But the constitutional crisis we all feared would happen at some point during Trump’s presidency, is here. I can feel it. I can see it. Thankfully, we now have oversight in Congress. This President does not and will not respect that oversight. It’s way past time to teach this President that there is a co-equal branch of government that sits at the other side of Pennsylvania Ave … whether he likes it or not.