What's Bill Barr Been Up To?

Sometimes it seems everybody expects AG Barr to be micromanaging everything to do with DoJ: Why isn't this case being prosecuted on my time table, why hasn't this person been fired yet, why isn't Barr teliing about that other investigation, etc.

Yesterday, we saw Barr giving a major speech on China and our Tech/Media complex. Imagine how much of his time is absorbed staying up to date on those matters and the possibility of antitrust action!

Now here's a breaking story that illustrates one of the many things that is sure to draw Barr's attention and, in some degree, involvement. For those of you who aren't familiar with Chicago/Illinois politics, Speaker of the IL House Mike Madigan has, for many years, been considered to be the most powerful politician in Illinois. At any level.

We've been hearing about this investigation for years now--I can tell you that it was ongoing in one form or another when I was still working. Now Bill Barr is AG, and something is happening that could possibly transform politics in one of the most reliably Blue states in the country--a state that does make a difference in national politics. There's a reason why this didn't happen when Obama was still in the White House, and there's probably a reason why it didn't happen until Barr became AG:

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- ComEd will pay $200 million to end a federal criminal investigation into a years-long bribery scheme, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting. 

In doing so, ComEd admits it arranged jobs, subcontracts and pay-offs for associates of “a high-level elected official for the state of Illinois,” the U.S. Attorney’s office announced Friday. 

That person is identified as “Public Official A” in a press release that implicates House Speaker Michael Madigan, according to the Sun-Times. 

“Public Official A controlled what measures were called for a vote in the Illinois House of Representatives and exerted substantial influence over fellow lawmakers concerning legislation affecting ComEd,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a news release.

One assumes this is really just the beginning of a new stage in a long running investigation. That $200 million and the attendant admissions is a down payment on future cooperation. High level people in ComEd will be called upon to testify against the Dem machine's very top levels.

Did I mention that Obama came up through this machine? That he was groomed for high office by that machine? IL Senator Dick Durbin is also part of that machine.
OK, here's some more detail--updating the breaking story.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed Friday a one-count criminal information in U.S. District Court in Chicago charging ComEd with bribery.  Under the agreement, the government will defer prosecution on the charge for three years and then seek to dismiss it if ComEd abides by certain conditions, including continuing to cooperate with ongoing investigations of individuals or other entities related to the conduct described in the bribery charge.

It's hard to describe how potentially huge this is. Count on it--Barr will be all over this case, and anyone expecting those ComEd folks to get patty cake treatment hasn't been paying attention to Barr's career.

ComEd’s admissions regarding the charged conduct are contained in a Statement of Facts attached to the deferred prosecution agreement.  ComEd admitted that its efforts to influence and reward the high-level elected official – identified in the Statement of Facts as “Public Official A” – began in or around 2011 and continued through in or around 2019. 

... 

In addition to the monetary penalty and obligation to continue cooperating with government investigations, ComEd’s obligations under the deferred prosecution agreement include enhancing its compliance program and providing annual reports to the government regarding remediation and implementation of its compliance measures, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a news release.  If ComEd fails to completely perform or fulfill each of its obligations under the agreement during the three-year term, the U.S. Attorney’s Office can initiate prosecution of the charged offense. 

Note that "Investigations" is the plural of investigation.

Meanwhile, Madigan’s allies have been circled by the feds.

Don't hold your breath. This is ongoing, but this agreement probably would not have been finalized and made public if the USA and FBI weren't ready to take further steps fairly soon. Anyone who thinks Bill Barr is twiddling his thumbs back at Main Justice, please reconsider.