Thread by @TimInHonolulu

1. 1993-4 my late brother investigated Bill Barr, Reagan, Bush & Baker among others. It was a strange case involving the CIA. Most of the investigation was top secret "code-worded now called SCI. The case was the pet peeve of the @nytimes' William Safire who rage op-ed-ed it.

2.The accusations involved the CIA arming Saddam Hussein with WMD including nuclear weapons technology. It centered around a small Atlanta bank branch of a larger Italian bank that was accused of laundering US farm credits to Iraq. My brother promised to give me a copy of

3. an unclassified version of his report. He never did. He never discussed it after it was submitted and I presume it was never declassified. John died last year. Here is Merrick Garland on John as counselor to the Attorney General.

4. l note John never mentioned the Uni-Bomber or a role in his capture. John was really good as secrets. Had he thought Barr violated the law I don't think he would have let him off the hook. His decision to not pursue the two former non-lawyer presidents was another matter.

5. In my closer look at Bill Barr I noticed something in his bio that I didn't previously know. He was in the CIA during the period of the Watergate investigation and through the Church hearings.

6. Barr later worked at the Justice department when Iran-Contra was roiling in Washington. The idea that a former spook got control of that investigation is interesting. Was Barr the Mr. Wolf character from Pulp Fiction? The Cleaner? Don't know.

7. Barr's current professional affiliation means he may also be part of a deeply disturbing political cabal that is run through DC law firms. Is he to be one of the #KochBrothers bought & paid for public officials? IMO their role in the Russian money that flooded the GOP via the

8. @NRA and other vectors is a clear & present danger. But what does that really have to do with Barr and his appointment as AG? I think he may have put out his memo as a "dangle" believing that it would draw Trump's attention just like Matt Whitaker did on Fox. And it worked.

9. Remember, Barr was a spook. Even if he was an analyst he likely has basic trade craft knowledge. I note his undergrad area study was China (like mine) and don't know if he was a field person in China having joined after Nixon's Feb 21, 1972 opening visit. But he was CIA.

10. That fact that I just recently learned changes my view of his role in the Bush41 administration. So is he Mr. Wolf? He may have been the person who cleaned up the DOJ files in preparation for concealing the CIA screw up in Iran-Contra & Iraqgate from someone like my brother.

11. But why pop up now? If he's #KochBrothers' boy, he may have dangled the memo to be at #DOJ to drive the bus that @realDonaldTrump needs to be thrown under to save the @GOP and all the sunk corruption investment the #Kochs have made. CIA is not driving the bus. The Kochs are.

12. What better guy to get than someone who has already done similar job & was able to do it in a way his crew got away with it. @POTUS @WhiteHouse @JudiciaryDems @maddow @KamalaHarris @CoryBooker @maziehirono @SenBlumenthal @amyklobuchar @ChrisCoons @amyklobuchar @neal_katyal

13. Here are the members of the @SenateGOP on @senjudiciary in the 2016 cycle who likely took Russian money and are concealing it. think they're likely targets of Mueller probe.
@ChuckGrassley
@MikeCrapo
@JohnKennedy
@SenJoniErnst
Kennedy was on July 4, 2018 Moscow trip.

14. @amyklobuchar asked if Barr's firm had current clients who may be Mueller targets. Eyes showed was preparing to lie. & bailed out saying he was just "of counsel" only 1 client. But question was about the firm. Sen Klobuchar let him off hook to supplement in writing. #Kochs

15. Barr is not the sharpest tool in the shed. Let's say he did come in to obstruct. There are likely ongoing parallel state criminal investigations. So if he made an agreement to obstruct those, he can be charged by the states and spend several years in a state penitentiary.

16. Kennedy will be interesting to watch. He has his Gomer Pyle affect that hides his real persona. He knows he's in deep for 2016 and I don't think he came clean with the @FBIWFO.

17. @Mimirocah1 is right about the SDNY. The key to head off Barr is for @NewYorkStateAG to file indictments against RNC and the Cohen associates engaged in the funding crimes before Barr can try to block it. Once it's out he will be hard pressed to interfere in the SDNY.