Helping to whip up the base and generally distract from other stuff?
quote:
Attorney General William Barr argued Wednesday that coronavirus-related lockdown orders were surpassed only by slavery as the “greatest intrusion on civil liberties” in the nation’s history.
The remarks from the attorney general came during an event hosted by Hillsdale College, where Barr delivered a speech defending his intervention in high-profile Justice Department cases and comparing career prosecutors to preschoolers.
“You know, putting a national lockdown, stay-at-home orders, is like house arrest. It’s — you know, other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history,” Barr said during a question-and-answer session following his remarks.
Barr also used the appearance to address the widespread criticism he has faced as the nation’s top law enforcement officer for allegedly interfering in criminal cases on behalf of President Donald Trump’s political interests.
The attorney general specifically attacked Justice Department attorneys who had made prosecutorial decisions with which he disagreed.
“Name one successful organization where the lowest level employees’ decisions are deemed sacrosanct. There aren’t any,” Barr said, according to a Justice Department copy of his remarks. “Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it’s no way to run a federal agency.”
Barr asserted that “individual prosecutors can sometimes become headhunters, consumed with taking down their target,” and charged that “smart, ambitious lawyers have sought to amass glory by prosecuting prominent public figures since the Roman Republic.”
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows defended the attorney general Thursday morning amid fallout from Barr’s remarks, saying the Trump administration was working to “restore the integrity to the Department of Justice and the FBI.”
“When we talk about setting priorities, Bill Barr is exactly right. We need to make sure that everyone is treated equally under the law,” Meadows told Fox News in an interview.
“But, unfortunately, some in — some would say it’s the deep state. I would just say that it’s actually the swamp that continues to try to make sure a political agenda is driven instead of law and order and justice for all,” he added.
Barr was also complaining that prosecutors in DOJ are acting on political motivations. Ummm... pot... meet kettle.
quote:
“Name one successful organization where the lowest level employees’ decisions are deemed sacrosanct. There aren’t any,”
Name one successful organization that is run as an absolute autocracy where the inputs of the junior members are ignored completely unless they conform completely with the policies of the autocrat. There aren't any.
