William Barr Attorney General Confirmation Hearing - Live Streaming And Open Thread

We know William Barr will be confirmed by the Republican senators, but what commitments to the independence of the Mueller investigation will the Democrats wrest from him during the hearing? Live streaming after the jump.

The confirmation of William Barr as attorney general is taking on special significance given the recent reporting that Donald Trump is or was the subject of a counterintelligence investigation into whether he was working on behalf of Russia and that he concealed details of his conversations with Vladimir Putin from senior officials in his own administration. And then there is that Trump-friendly memo about the Mueller investigation he just happened to circulate before getting nominated.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is now chaired by Trump suck-up Sen. Lindsey Graham. As the hearing is opening, Graham is showing no concern over Trump's behavior regarding Russia and every bit of concern that the FBI is biased against Dear Leader Donald Trump.

The live-streaming is below, via PBS NewsHour. Share your thoughts and observations in our comments section.

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commented 2019-01-16 03:15:24 -0500 · Flag

Barr is an extremely Far Right man, known for his belief that Roe v Wade should be overturned and for having urged George HW Bush to pardon everyone he could from the Iran/Contra investigation and thus kneecap that entire process. His Right Wing bonafides go back to his days with the CIA in the 1970s and his happy work within the Reagan White House in the early 80s. He’s alternated between Right Wing law firms and Right Wing White Houses throughout his career.

He is more than comfortable with the idea of complete power resting with the Executive Branch. He isn’t a Trump puppet – he’s more of an expression of how the Pence White House views the law. I would not be surprised to see him pardon anyone he feels Mueller is targeting that is too close to home. And he’ll be just as draconian about everything that Sessions was – if not more so.

commented 2019-01-15 18:29:33 -0500 · Flag

Agreed, dear Ellen. If he is as good as his word, he’ll be a much better bet that Whitaker or the evil little pixie. It still worries me that he got the job on the strength of that unsolicited ‘opinion’ that brought him to The Great Dick Traitor’s notice, though.

commented 2019-01-15 18:23:55 -0500 · Flag

Definitely a done deal but I’m somewhat reassured by the fact that he clearly has a fidelity to the law and the DOJ and does not intend to be a Trump puppet. That said, he’s also obviously a proponent of executive power. However, just now, near the end, he said, "I don’t subscribe to this ‘Lock her up’ stuff.

commented 2019-01-15 15:39:06 -0500 · Flag

So far, he hasn’t done enough to peel away any Republicans. Looks like a done deal to me.