Thread by @SentinelVI

I’ve been watching AG Barr’s confirmation hearing. I think this has restored my faith by about 12%.

As I’m watching, I’m thinking about how this played out.

Barr is without a doubt a “legal expert” style AG. This reminds me of Trump’s hiring strategy which we’ve seen time and time again.

I think that Sessions was a “policy AG”. It’s clear that Trump picked him at first in order to set the policy tone of the DOJ - on issues that Trump clearly finds important. Immigration, etc.

Trump probably knew a lot about how corrupted the DOJ was, but I’m not sure that Sessions was ready for it. Sessions was a senator - but I believe that Trump prioritized “triage” of everything policy-wise immediately over dealing with the corruption.

Interesting from Barr was his first meeting with Trump - he was brought to the WH and Trump asked Barr what his thoughts on Mueller were. Barr said “I think he’s upstanding and a straight shooter”. Trump then said “give me your number”.

It’s also surprising to me that Barr is even coming back. He’s 68 and he’s been AG before. He is coming back to the DOJ from semi retirement - and specifically said that he thinks he can be helpful because he can “do what he wants without worrying about career ramifications”

The media blitz is something else right now. There is rapid positioning going on. Why?

I’m not convinced that anything is going to happen yet.

I’m not sure it even could at this point,

But Barr stresses that it’s critical to restore the reputation of DOJ

Side note - the house interrogation of Whitaker was such a damn circus that watching the Senate conduct this hearing with an element of decorum has been like a soothing salve. Even the Democrats there were reasonably respectful towards Barr.

And the questions remain - you’re seeing them pop up in the wake of announcing Jeffrey Rosen as well. “WHY DOES TRUMP KEEP HIRING PEOPLE WHO WILL ‘BETRAY’ HIM???”

Barr in this hearing is overwhelmingly pro-Rosenstein. Pro-Mueller. He vouches for the utmost integrity of both. Why?

It’s not like Trump has no choice but to select these specific individuals.

I’ve been a proponent in the past of picking somebody from far outside of DC for this job - someone guaranteed not to be tainted by the swamp.

But now I’m not sure. There is just too much risk of fucking it up.

Especially when we see now that the opposition will orchestrate crazy traps and operate on future info. Ex: what they’re doing to Whitaker right now with the “Trump lashed out about SDNY” story, a trap that was primed at Whitaker’s house interrogation.

Barr also said that Rosenstein had always planned a 2-year stint as DAG.

RR and Barr appear to communicate frequently, and have met a few times during RR’s tenure as DAG.

What’s maddening is that all of this can be framed to support both the Pro-RR and the Anti-RR arguments within our sphere of Twitter. It is STILL impossible to state conclusively. Both ideas have merits and unanswered questions.

Is Bill Barr walking into a tangled mess of corruption?

Or is he walking in to a restructured and ready-to-rock DOJ that has been prepared by RR, Sessions and Whitaker to be combat ready?

Then we learn that Mueller’s report is coming out next week.

Mueller/RR quick exit out from under the new boss, or opening salvo?

Wray is a phantom. Bruce Ohr is still employed. IG Horowitz working behind the scenes? Whitaker namedrops Huber? Gowdy interviewing? But still no cards showing.

Sorry that this is phrenetic, but we’re so deep in uncharted waters it’s tough to keep bearings.

One thing is clear, Barr came into this hearing as a person who has done this all before. That will probably be a tremendous advantage. One of Sessions issues surely was that being a senator does not mean that you can be a good executive, and the AG is a CEO.

Then again, the swamp doesn’t appear to view Barr as a threat at all. To me that is a red flag.

Is Barr awake to what’s really been going on?

He said he was shocked to read LP/PS texts. But this whole thing is so much deeper than those. The texts are PEANUTS.

Does “restoring the reputation of the DOJ” mean wallpapering over all of this unbelievable misconduct, or does it mean exposing it all and excising the cancer?