Restraint.
A little something new for the “Barr’s trying to rebuild respectability in official Washington before reentering private life” file. The case for appointing a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden is cut and dried. As I noted last night, even some Trump critics believe it’s warranted. Why would Barr show such restraint in this case after he was willing to elevate John Durham to the status of special counsel in order to protect Durham’s investigation? Meanwhile, an intriguing question for legal eagles: Can Trump himself appoint a special counsel if Barr won’t? President Trump has expressed interest in pursuing the appointment of a special counsel to investigate allegations of fraud in the November elections and issues related to Hunter Biden, according to people familiar with the matter. In recent days, the president has directed advisers to look for people who could serve in such a position, one of the people said, as lawsuits and other efforts by Mr. Trump and his campaign to reverse the election results flounder. White House officials and allies of the president on Capitol Hill and elsewhere have also pushed for the appointment of a special counsel, another person familiar with the discussions said… Mr. Trump, in a meeting Friday, fumed about a Wall Street Journal report that Mr. Barr knew of an existing federal investigation into Hunter Biden before the election but worked to keep it from being publicly disclosed, a person familiar with the conversation said. In the meeting, Mr. Trump contemplated firing Mr. Barr, people familiar with the conversation said, adding that it is not clear whether Mr. Trump intends to follow through… Associates of Mr. Barr said he is unlikely to name anyone to such a post, particularly after he appointed another prosecutor in October as special counsel to continue his examination of the origins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2016 Russia investigation. In case you’re wondering, yes, Trump has seen this WSJ report: A big disappointment! https://t.co/esmB5HrJlH Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12,2020 IF Biden gets in, nothing will happen to Hunter or Joe. Barr will do nothing, and the new group of partisan killers coming in will quickly kill it all. Same thing with Durham. We caught them cold, spying, treason & more (the hard part), but “Justice” took too long. Will be DOA! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12,2020 Why didn’t Bill Barr reveal the truth to the public, before the Election, about Hunter Biden. Joe was lying on the debate stage that nothing was wrong, or going on – Press confirmed. Big disadvantage for Republicans at the polls! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12,2020 “The president now is re-exploring options for replacing Barr,” Axios is reporting this afternoon.
