US Politics Mega-thread - Page 1431

On May 07 2019 03:20 NewSunshine wrote:

If you don't want your opponents playing politics, don't make it into a political game. Your rhetoric has grown pretty transparent. Crying "they're just playing politics" rings pretty hollow when Trump hired an AG with little integrity for the sole purpose of running point defense for him. You don't get to dish stuff out and complain when people shoot back.

In 1989, Barr, then assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, determined that the F.B.I could legally seize criminal suspects in foreign countries without consent from their governments. In doing so, Barr changed the department’s position — in a 1980 legal opinion, the government said that such kidnappings were unlawful.

It was a controversial opinion, especially given its key implication at the time — that the United States could abduct Gen. Manuel Noriega of Panama, who had seized power that spring. In response, Congress called Barr to testify. “Kidnapping a suspect would make the U.S. into an international outlaw,” Representative Don Edwards of California said during the hearing, as he outlined the consequences for America’s reputation if federal authorities had free rein to kidnap. Congress also asked Barr to release his memorandum to the public, but he refused. Instead, he wrote a 13-page summary that he claimed contained its “principal” arguments and conclusions, something that should sound familiar to contemporary observers.

Except it didn’t. In 1991, Congress obtained a copy of the full memo. It contained several points not present in the summary, including the contention that the president of the United States could ignore the United Nations’ prohibition of state-sponsored kidnapping.

Barr misled Congress and the public through omission. But by then he was already on his way to confirmation as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, where he would recommend pardons for key figures in the Iran-contra scandal, which stymied a yearslong investigation into executive-branch lawbreaking that implicated the sitting president.

On May 07 2019 06:52 Plansix wrote:
My favorite candidate will be the one that knocks Biden out of the race, because my god we need to escape the 1990s Democrats. Next thing you know he will be apologizing for Bill Clinton.