The Washington Examiner had a story yesterday based on an interview Adam Schiff gave to the Talking Feds podcast on July 13, 2020 (transcript). Schiff's fear of Bill Barr is almost palpable--which should encourage the faint hearted. It's the fear Schiff has for an honest, principled, and highly competent man.
How Attorney General William Barr may yet unleash the power of the Justice Department has House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff unnerved.
The California Democrat invoked U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is conducting a criminal inquiry of the federal Russia investigation, as he discussed his dread that "more serious abuse" of federal law enforcement will happen in the coming days.
It's amusing to see Schiff, in what was surely a Freudian slip, allowing his inner Chekist to show, describing Barr as Trump's "sword and shield"--the first image to come to his mind, apparently. According to Schiff, so far we've mostly seen Barr as Trump's "shield," but what's apparently keeping Schiff awake nights is the fear that we're about to see--through the Durham investigation--Barr as Trump's sword. A terrible swift sword, to use a more American metaphor.
"One of the concerns I have with Bill Barr is that the worst is yet to come. ..."
Yes! Exactly what I'm hoping!
"What we have not yet had full visibility on is ... [h]ow [Barr] may be using the power of the Justice Department through Durham ..."
...
Whereas Schiff is spooked by being kept in the dark about Durham's work, his Republican counterpart on the House Intelligence Committee views that as a "good sign."
"The one good thing so far that we've learned about this Durham investigation is that Durham isn’t talking. People on his team aren’t talking," California Rep. Devin Nunes said during a Fox News interview last month. "I think that’s a good sign that this is a real, legitimate investigation that’s occurring."
It all sounds good to me.
not for pub, just proofing suggestion- the last sentence of your 1st para above ("It's the fear of...) gave the impression on first read that you were calling Schiff an 'honest, principled...man.' It's the fear a weak crook has for the good man.
ReplyDeleteI did wonder about that and will fix it. Tx.
DeleteI know it's not Christian to wish harm on one's enemies, but I can't help myself in Adam Schiff's case. Wonder if one of Durham's grand juries has learned that Schiff is the leaker we've all suspected he is.
ReplyDeleteI truly hope Barr is the Sword of Justice. Pencil Neck should have remembered: Those who live by the sword [of lies and deceit], die by the sword [of truth].
This is tough ground. I'm so angered and shaken by the revelations of such deep corruption in our government, but as a Christian I should have expected it. (It's just that it's SO outrageous and duplicitous!)
DeleteThe government was designed well, but as Adams observed, it takes a moral people to live free under our constitution.
My prayer has been, first, that God would bring these people to repentance and faith. But if they reject it, then I pray that God would bring these men and women down in such a way that their deeds would be known and seen for what they are in front of all people, and that he would cause the traps that they laid to ensnare them.
And then I ask him to give me the humility and grace to accept it if I'm wrong.
My sentiments exactly!
DeletePerhaps Sundance is not far off the mark with the prediction of big events soon to occur when you have Schiff about to jump off his lily pad and swim to the bottom to hide in the mud.
ReplyDeleteDJL
Kind of like a "prediction" that three dots and three dashes is somebody sending S.O.S. in Morse.
Delete@Anne Sherman
ReplyDeleteI agree. It was an enormous conspiracy of evil. They were all complicit...
Comey and Clapper and Brennan...
and McCabe and Strzok and Page...
and Simpson, Steele and the Ohrs...
and Mifsud and Halper...
and Rice, Power, Lynch and Yates...
and Warner, Barr and Wolfe...
and "Bob" Mueller...
and, ultimately Mrs Clinton and Barack Obama...
but I am reserving my greatest hopes for justice and retribution for
Andrew Weissmann and...
Adam Schiff.
Adam Schiff is a very easy man to hate. But unless all hell breaks loose (which of course is possible), I still want him to get due process.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9rjGTOA2NA
@Cassander, I trust you meant Burr, not Barr.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why you single out Weissman.
He's evil, to be sure, but I think righteous anger must target those with the greatest opportunity and responsibility to do good. To me, that means Mueller, Comey and Schiff; closely followed by Brennan; then the rest.
In terms of unrealistic targets, I would put Obama and Clinton at the top. We will have to hope that the condemnation of history will be enough for them.
They (and I mean ALL of them, including Obama and both Clintons) will one day stand at the Judgment bar and have to account to the Creator of us all for their misdeeds. At that day, they will not be able to lie. I would not want to be them.
DeleteSchiff appears to be turning on the bat signal for the msm to start the Durham smear campaign.
ReplyDelete@mistcr
ReplyDeleteOops! Yes. Burr.
I put Weissmann near the top because of my suspicion that Weissmann was deeply involved in the early planning of the conspiracy. I think it is pretty well established that he was attending meetings with others who are now known to be conspirators during the summer of 2016. My suspicion is redoubled after reading (in Sidney Powell's book) about his involvement and wrongdoing in the Enron prosecutions. I think he is especially despicable because the unscrupulous prosecutions of people like Flynn and Papadopoulos can destroy lives.
As for Clinton and Obama, I only said they are complicit and deserving of justice and retribution. We will see how it is delivered.
Of course, I have heard of Weissman's past and agree he is totally despicable.
DeleteI know it was picking nits, I was just curious why, on that list, he floated to the top.
I'm sick of people (on other sites) talking about how it was really Weissmann's show. No doubt it has his fingerprints on it, but I think Mueller was fully in charge and that the investigation was run in total accordance with his design.
I suppose it's too much to hope that Mueller will be charged. Durham may desire it given their past, but Durham is a professional.
@ mistcr
ReplyDeleteI don't want to make you sick...or sicker...but I'm afraid it was Weissmann's show. Just my opinion.
But...and its a big but...this in no way excuses Mueller. He was Special Counsel and he has 100% responsibility for everything that went down. Weissmann may or may not have set the agenda or pushed him around, or taken advantage of him, but this in no way excuses Mueller from 100% responsibility.
In fact, to me it adds to Mueller's culpability since he is not only responsible for the actions, results and work product of his office, he is responsible for the supervision of everybody on the staff, first and foremost including Andrew Weissmann.
I wouldn't trust Adam Schiff any further than I could throw Jerry Nadler.
ReplyDelete@Cassander; I'm with you. This smells, feels and tastes like Andrew Weissmann Arthur Anderson extrordinaire. Mueller is just a blind figure head IMO. Just recall how he floundered through the SCO review when Congress had him originally appear a year ago. A mere Weissmann puppet. Schiff on the other hand will most likely get off with a censure at best again IMO.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't bet $.10 on even a censure for Schiff as long as Nancy Pelosi has any influence in the Democratic Party. It's my opinion that she is grooming Schiff as her successor. If she ever leaves, that is.
DeletePelosi has made it clear she has no respect for Nadler, but it took some serious contortions on her part for the impeachment to be run by the Intel Committee.
@Anne Sherman; I disagree Schiff is damaged goods now and IMO won't be groomed for anything. Can't be trusted for anything even by his own party I believe. Agreed with Nadler. He's just a dumb waiter in a 1920's office building waiting to be put out to pasture.
Delete@AmericanCardigan: this is exactly what I'm talking about. Mueller did not flounder during his testimony. He played dumb during probing Republican questioning, but was quite sharp during friendly Democrat questioning.
ReplyDeleteMueller is a seasoned bureaucrat and, with the expectation of friendly media coverage, knew exactly how to play that testimony. That so many still speak of his diminishing faculties is a testimony to his success.
Look, I'm not denying that Weissmann's fingerprints are all over this thing. I'm sure he was the top lieutenant and ran major portions of the operation. I'm just trying to say that Mueller was in full possession of his faculties, was fully in charge of the investigation, and made sure that he had the even more corrupt Weissmann on his team to make sure every play in their playbook was put to use. He is every bit as culpable as Weissmann, more so because he was in charge.
@Mistcr: Not sure about that; Democrat questions were Lob's, softballs, other questions referencing items sourced in the Mueller dossier as some call it he couldn't recall or find even when referencing page numbers. you call that a "seasoned bureaucrat"? I do believe Weissman was in from the beginning in his former role within the DOJ. Part of the corrupt conspiracy keeping this alive to kick-the-can down the road to the SCO.
DeleteBy seasoned bureaucrat, I mean that he knows how to navigate hostile questioning that is constrained by a time limit. In this case, the strategy was to spend the questioner's time thumbing through the report and playing dumb.
DeleteI base my conviction on Yaacov Apelbaum's critique of Mueller's testimony.
https://apelbaum.wordpress.com/2019/08/09/robert-muellers-deflective-force-field/
@AmericanCardigan
ReplyDelete"Schiff on the other hand will most likely get off with a censure at best again IMO".
Given immunities available to members of Congress, indictment looks unlikely.
So I'm hoping for total, irretrievable, unforgivable, reputation-destroying disgrace.
@Cassander; yes hence a censure is best hope at this point. Congress is pretty much untouchable.
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