Adam Schiff dreads criminal investigation led by federal prosecutor
How Attorney General William Barr may yet unleash the power of the Justice Department has House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff unnerved.
The California Democrat invoked U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is conducting a criminal inquiry of the federal Russia investigation, as he discussed his dread that "more serious abuse" of federal law enforcement will happen in the coming days.
"One of the concerns I have with Bill Barr is that the worst is yet to come. I mean, he's got a terrible, destructive track record as it is, and it may get worse in the coming days," Schiff said in a recent episode of the Talking Feds podcast. "But what we have seen largely is Barr's intervention to protect the president."
As examples, Schiff mentioned Barr's rollout of special counsel Robert Mueller's report and "intervention" in cases spun off from the Russia investigation to "help Trump cronies" such as Roger Stone and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
"What we have not yet had full visibility on is not Barr's use of the shield to protect corruption writ large of his boss, Donald Trump, but the sword," Schiff continued. "How he may be using the power of the Justice Department through Durham or others to go after the president's enemies. And in many respects, that is a far greater, more serious abuse of the power of the Justice Department than his use of the shield."
It's a well-worn line of criticism for Schiff, who has complained since last year that the Justice Department has kept the Democratic-led House in the dark about its inquiries into whether there was inappropriate "spying" on Trump's 2016 campaign and other misconduct.
But more recently, that anxiety has deepened as Trump accused former President Barack Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, of committing crimes as part of the "Obamagate" scandal.
"And so I continue to be concerned with the president, who is tweeting about how Obama and Biden should go to prison, that Bill Barr may be preparing the use of the sword in a politicized and dangerous and desperate way," Schiff said.
Barr has repeatedly said he does not expect Obama or Biden, who is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to be targets of Durham's investigation. He also has dismissed the inquiry as being a partisan hit job, even as some critics fear an "October surprise."
"This cannot be, and it will not be, a tit-for-tat exercise. We are not going to lower our standards to achieve a particular result," the attorney general said in May. Barr told Fox News last month that he anticipates "developments" in Durham's criminal investigation by the end of the summer.
Whereas Schiff is spooked by being kept in the dark about Durham's work, his Republican counterpart on the House Intelligence Committee views that as a "good sign."
"The one good thing so far that we've learned about this Durham investigation is that Durham isn’t talking. People on his team aren’t talking," California Rep. Devin Nunes said during a Fox News interview last month. "I think that’s a good sign that this is a real, legitimate investigation that’s occurring."
Post a Comment