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I mean. Wtaf? Barr donations to senate gopigs spiked just before they confirmed him as attorney general. H/t @Technocrat21mb qz.com/1667918/barrs-…
Most of those donations made between 1993 and 2019 were occasional at best. But in the lead up to his Senate confirmation hearings for attorney general earlier this year, his giving habits suddenly changed.
donations became far more frequent, notable for their size, recipients, & possible utility to him. In total, Barr gave $51,000 to NRSC - a group that raises money to help elect Republicans to the Senate—in the months leading up to the Senate’s confirmation of his nomination.
Barr’s ramped up contributions took place over a 5-month period from October 2018 to February 2019 and were substantially different than his prior giving to the NRSC, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings
In the past Barr gave sporadically, once in 2009 and 2011, twice in 2014, one contribution in 2015, and another in 2016. Then, Jeff Sessions’ tenure as attorney general got rocky, and Barr started giving regularly.
He donated on a schedule, providing $10,000 every month to the NRSC, on the third of the month, starting in October. That continued until he was confirmed on Feb. 14, 2019, just 11 days after his last contribution.
The donations do not violate FEC rules. The contributions should, however, “raise eyebrows,” says Adav Noti, a senior director at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington DC, a campaign finance watchdog. 
The obvious question raised by these donations is whether they were intended to influence a particular outcome. 🗣loopholes
“In my view, prosecutors who make political contributions are identifying fairly strongly with a political party,” Barr said.
His own donations are similarly suspect, although the NRSC refunded $30,000 to Barr on Feb. 6, about a week before he was confirmed
In other words, he wasn’t lying low hoping to go unnoticed but signaling strongly that he would defend Trump.
Indeed, as attorney general, Barr has played a key role in supporting the president.
It’s become apparent that serving as attorney general under Trump, who shares Barr’s expansive notions of executive power, allows Barr to pursue what his former DOJ colleague Donald Ayer called “his life’s work of creating an all-powerful president.”
He was reportedly recommended for the role by Abbe D. Lowell
