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10 Nov, 31 tweets, 15 min read
THREAD: AG Barr has abused his office & corrupted the DOJ. This latest abuse of DOJ to cast doubt on the results of our election fits into a disturbing pattern I call #BarrGate. He serves Trump, not the law, not the people. Here’s a partial list of his horrific abuses of power:
June 2018: Barr auditions to be Trump’s AG by sending him a memo criticizing the Mueller probe. This is better understood as a signal to the President that he will be working for Trump and not the American people. #BarrGate
law.com/nationallawjou…
January 2019: Barr refuses to say if he will recuse himself from supervision of the Mueller probe during his confirmation hearing–depriving the Senate of a key piece of information before the vote. Regardless, he is confirmed. #BarrGate
Spring 2019: Barr meddles in the case of former Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty and implicated the president in a campaign finance violation but Barr demanded memos be written to undercut the conviction. #BarrGate
salon.com/2020/06/26/wil…
March 2019: Barr withholds the Mueller report from the public for days. At the same time, he releases a letter that grossly mischaracterizes the Special Counsel’s findings and warps public perception to falsely exonerate Trump. #BarrGate theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
March 2019: Barr also makes the determination that Mueller’s evidence is not sufficient to establish a crime. This political whitewashing of Trump’s actions ignores multiple clearly established instances of obstruction of justice in the report. #BarrGate
April 2019: Barr initially refuses to release a full version of the Mueller report. Instead, he states that he will only be releasing a redacted version. #BarrGate
thehill.com/policy/nationa…
April 2019: Barr lends credence to the Trump conspiracy theory that the Obama administration “spied” on the Trump campaign—a dangerous and baseless claim. #BarrGate
apnews.com/eac9c8f45ed84f…
April 2019: Barr advances Trump’s war on immigrants by ordering immigration judges to stop allowing asylum-seekers to participate in the bail system, despite OIG finding 99% of people with help showed up for court appearances and ICE check-ins. #BarrGate npr.org/2019/04/17/714…
April 2019: Barr undermines the core checks and balances of our democracy by ordering a Justice Department official to refuse to comply with a lawful congressional subpoena. #BarrGate
washingtonpost.com/powerpost/just…
April 2019: Once again acting as a Trump lackey, Barr starts up a politically-motivated probe into the origins of the Russia investigation. #BarrGate thehill.com/homenews/admin…
May 2019: Barr appears before a Senate committee. @SenKamalaHarris asks whether Trump has ever asked for an investigation into his political rivals. Barr refuses to answer.
time.com/5581550/kamala…
June 2019: Barr attempts to crush a federal investigation into a state-owned Turkish bank suspected of violating U.S. sanctions law and that reports suggest may have been seeking to peddle influence with the president.
nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/…
July 2019: Barr overrules the Justice Dept’s Civil Rights Division on bringing federal civil rights charges against the murderer of Eric Garner. #BarrGate
cnbc.com/2019/07/16/jus…
July 2019: Barr reinstates the death penalty for federal crimes, despite decades of evidence that innocent Americans—disproportionately Black Americans—have ended up on Death Row. #BarrGate
nbcnews.com/politics/justi…
February 2020: Barr’s Justice Dept suddenly changes course and seeks to soften the sentence of Trump ally Roger Stone. This abrupt and suspicious change causes career persecutors to quit in protest. #BarrGate nbcnews.com/politics/polit…
May 2020: Barr moves to drop charges against Michael Flynn, who admitted his guilt. No proper cause is cited and a move of this kind is unprecedented. #BarrGate
vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/b…
June 2020: Barr sends federal troops to tear gas peaceful protestors in Lafayette Park to clear the way for a Trump photo op. #BarrGate
cnn.com/2020/06/02/pol…
June 2020: Barr echoes Trump in attacking vote by mail. Specifically, he claims that foreign countries will send counterfeit ballots by mail. Another dangerous lie. #BarrGate washingtonpost.com/politics/elect…
June 2020: Barr seeks to clear out the leadership of the SDNY by announcing that U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman is stepping down. Berman himself disputes that characterization.
nbcnews.com/politics/justi…
August 2020: Barr accuses peaceful protestors fighting for racial justice and accountable policing of trying to “tear down the system.” He goes on to say “They’re essentially Bolsheviks. Their tactics are fascistic.” #BarrGate
washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08…
September 2020: The DOJ moves to take over Trump’s defense in a personal lawsuit. This is a corruption of the DOJ to – once again – serve the interests of Donald Trump, not of the American people. #BarrGate
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
September 2020: Barr lies to the American people and sows further doubts about the integrity of our election by saying a man in Texas was caught with 1700 ballots. #BarrGate
dallasnews.com/news/politics/…
September 2020: In the same interview, Barr covers for Trump by claiming on national TV he does not know if it is a crime to vote twice in the state of North Carolina, as Trump called for his supporters to do. (It is & it is a felony at that.) #BarrGate
nymag.com/intelligencer/…
September 2020: In a speech, Barr denigrates the men and women of the DOJ. He compares them to preschoolers and asserts his ultimate authority of decisions—a disgusting dig at career public servants. #BarrGate
vox.com/2020/9/17/2144…
September 2020: In the same speech, he also equates life-saving pandemic response to the horrors of human bondage. In doing so, he shows his complete lack of empathy with historical abuses & continuing struggles of marginalized communities. #BarrGate
cnn.com/2020/09/16/pol…
September 2020: We learn that Barr tried to have American protestors charged with sedition. #BarrGate
wsj.com/articles/barr-…
September 2020: Barr doubles down on abusing his office to punish political opponents, trying to cut off federal funding for Democratic-led cities including New York, Seattle, and my home city of Portland.
cnn.com/2020/09/21/pol…
Throughout his time as AG: Barr pushes the lawsuit to strike down Obamacare, seeking to deny millions access to insurance and protections for preexisting conditions. #BarrGate
politico.com/news/2020/06/2…
Yesterday: Barr attempts to cast doubts on the results of the election and tells federal attorneys to probe unsupported claims of voting irregularities. A top DOJ official for election crimes quits in protest. #BarrGate
cnn.com/2020/11/09/pol…
The American people have put an end to #BarrGate by electing Joe Biden to be president. But this intense corruption of our justice system should be fully investigated, never forgotten, and never repeated.

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More from @SenJeffMerkley

Senator Jeff Merkley Profile picture
7 Nov
President Trump failed our nation in many ways. He failed to lead a national response to COVID-19. He failed to build a better health care system, promising but failing to end the gouging of Americans on drug prices while working to destroy insurance for 20 million Americans.
Trump failed us by promoting hate and racism, dividing rather than uniting Americans. Trump failed our country on the most basic test of human decency, by deliberately harming refugee children seeking a better life, ripping them out of their parents’ arms.
And he failed us by assaulting the checks and balances of our Constitution, the rule of law, and the integrity of our elections. Our foreign adversaries have not and could not level as damaging an attack on our nation’s institutions as Donald Trump has done from the Oval Office.
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BREAKING NEWS: I have just announced legislation to create a national database of police misconduct. This is the first of many steps I’m working on in the fight to end police brutality and systemic racism. I'd like to discuss those steps with you now: merkley.senate.gov/news/press-rel…
Like many, I’ve been inspired and moved by the hundreds of thousands of people across America speaking out and standing up for Black lives. There is no magic wand for righting historic wrongs, but there’s also no excuse for inaction.
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This administration has failed to communicate with the American people, so let me be clear: This is going to get worse before it gets better. The actions we all take today, tomorrow, this week, will define the scope of the crisis we are up against. (1/)
washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03…
This is a very contagious disease that will likely infect a large number of Americans. But we can greatly slow the spread through social distancing, & in so doing, keep the number of sick from overwhelming our health care system and reducing deaths.
washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/…
Telework if you can. Avoid large & small crowds if possible. Get groceries at off-peak times to avoid crowds. Cancel all non-essential outings & gatherings until we see what happens next. Avoid communal surfaces that aren’t being disinfected (like handrails & playgrounds).
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3 Mar
VP Pence came to our caucus meeting today to discuss the latest on the #coronavirus response. I’ve been talking intensively with public health experts and people on the front lines in Oregon and nationally, and shared advice I've learned. Here's what I told him.
We need clear messages from the administration. Best way to limit the spread is for everyone to be hearing key messages starting w/ most important: 1. If you have symptoms, STAY HOME.
2. Most people can’t afford to stay home from work without pay. Our government should be doing everything it can to encourage employers to PAY workers who stay home ill. (And yes, we need national paid sick leave!)
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Senator Jeff Merkley Profile picture
11 Feb
President Trump has spent the last three years telling the American people that he’s fighting for them. But his actions—like releasing a budget proposal that slashes $5.6 billion in education funding—speak louder than words. (1/5)
For starters, those cuts will eliminate 29 federal elementary and secondary education programs, including grants that nearly 18,000 rural school districts rely on. That’s unacceptable. (2/5)
The President’s budget would also rip $865 million away from low-income students pursuing two- and four-year college degrees. (3/5)
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Senator Jeff Merkley Profile picture
24 Jan
“Nothing new!” claimed some of my colleagues, yet they voted repeatedly to block the witnesses and documents the House wants people to get. Can’t have it both ways.

Moreover, the House analysis of the information they do have raises key points we should all consider carefully:
That withholding aid to Ukraine while Ukraine is at war with Russia undermined the strategic position of our ally, and strengthened our adversary;
That even when many of Trump’s advisors raised their concerns about the damage to Ukrainian and U.S. security by withholding the aid, Trump refused to listen to them;
Read 6 tweets

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