Thread by @HoarseWisperer

There is an acronym for the reasons someone might allow themselves to be turned into an operative:

MICE - Money, Ideology, Compromise/Coercion, Ego

I’ve been putting thought into what would turn William Barr into a transparently obstructive force unrecognizable to friends.

1/

While he was obstructive in the Iran-Contra era under George HW Bush, there have been numerous reports that his blatant and wholesale effort to thwart the rule of law is shocking people who know him - including Mueller.

So, why?

2/

Money seems unlikely.

During his time at GTE and then Verizon, he was one of the highest paid General Counsels in the country with an annual comp in the neighb of $3 mil..

Then, in 2009, he walked away from VZW with $10 mil. in parting gifts.

3/
dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/for…

Since then, he has had two short stints as an ‘of counsel’ for the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. His comp. last year was reportedly $1.2 mil.

Not exactly barely scraping by for a 67-year old with one adult child.

The AG gig is a giant paycut but he doesn’t need the money.

4/

Then again, I’ve known my share of well off guys who only see the people above them in the rankings.

So, just because he doesn’t ‘need’ the money doesn’t mean he couldn’t be influenced by some opportunity to pocket more of it.

5/

Skipping to ‘C’ - compromise or coercion - it’s certainly possible Barr somehow put himself in a position where someone has leverage over him.

But, just my opinion, his affect and behavior have not been those of a man manipulated into serving a master. He’s been near gleeful.
6/

That brings us to: Ideology.

One thing is lefties have an incredibly hard time processing is the idea that someone intelligent could actually buy into an ideology that aligns with Trumpism and the belief he has been wronged/deserves protecting.

7/

Barr has made clear through past statements and actions that he is a tribalist.

He BELIEVES in the underlying economic principles of the Repub agenda under Trump.

He appears to see corporate predation, unchecked wealth accumulation and economic inequality as lawful sport.

8/

And he appears to see Republicans as justified activists for a justifiable agenda who are at war with unscrupulous Democrats.

He STILL thinks Hillary was under-investigated and is deserving of new scrutiny.

9/

Barr is a True Believer.

He isn’t doing this because of some compromising factor or motive. He isn’t doing it despite thinking its wrong.

He’s doing it because he thinks it’s RIGHT.

10/

No matter how inconceivable this is to us, Barr is merely a more lawyerly mix of Lou Dobbs and Mitch McConnell.

He is a product of a worldview with a very narrow aperture open only to things like entitlement to power and wealth... and he sees only one set of good guys here.

11/

Save this for posterity. Flog me if it proves wrong.

I will bet anyone who wants to wager an adult beverage that we will eventually discover from Mueller, others in government, and Barr’s personal associates:

He is doing all this because he entirely believes it is right.

12/

And... that view is so extreme, narrow and immovable, it has shocked everyone who knew him even three years ago.

We will hear “It was like he had been radicalized. He was utterly unreachable and utterly fixed in his thinking.”

13/

And finally, we’ll learn that his transformation was obvious the moment he walked into the room on his first day and none were more shocked than Mueller.

Their wives go to a prayer group together. They were allegedly friends. Expect to hear that has been obliterated.

14/

Morally upright people when faced with the painful reality that a friend has no such moral compass may need a moment to process... but they soon do.

Then, they return to the service of their principles being greater than the importance of any individual.

15/

We haven’t heard this story but we will... and the human drama behind the scenes will be of a True Believer shutting down an investigation and attempting to subvert justice while his once-friend was first shocked and then got to work to prevent that from succeeding.

16/

There is much we aren’t seeing but it is starting to trickle out.

Keep a close eye on Schiff, Nadler, the other members of the Intel Comms and public reporting on leaks.

All know and have known the things in this thread. All are working toward truth coming out. It will.

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