Federal judge Reggie Walton (appointed to the bench by GWB) issued a scathing opinion today about Bill Barr’s summary of the Mueller report, calling into question his “candor” and “credibility”.  He has ordered that the DOJ release the unreacted report so he he can judge for himself if Barr essentially lied to the public to protect Trump and bury the report.  A few meaty tidbits:

“The Court has grave concerns about the objectivity of the process that preceded the public release of the redacted version of the Mueller Report and its impacts on the Department’s subsequent justifications that its redactions of the Mueller Report are authorized by the FOIA.”

“…a review of the redacted version of the Mueller Report by the Court results in the Court’s concurrence with Special Counsel Mueller’s assessment that Attorney General Barr distorted the findings in the Mueller Report.”

And the crowning blow:

“The speed by which Attorney General Barr released to the public the summary of Special Counsel Mueller’s principal conclusions, coupled with the fact that Attorney General Barr failed to provide a thorough representation of the findings set forth in the Mueller Report, causes the Court to question whether Attorney General Barr’s intent was to create a one-sided narrative about the Mueller Report—a narrative that is clearly in some respects substantively at odds with the redacted version of the Mueller Report.”

Like all stories about corrupt officials, the truth of this particular corruption will come out.  This opinion by this Republican appointed judge is just the first step in dismantling the veil of lies constructed by Trump, his minions, and his corrupt attorney general.

It’s just a matter of time.

In a rare moment yesterday, Chief Justice John Roberts dove into politics by rebuking Chuck Schumer’s criticism of Neil Gorsuch (who is sitting in the seat stolen by Mitch McConnell) and Brett Kavanaugh (best known for boofing, sexual assault, and calendars) who are almost certainly going to vote in a Louisiana abortion case that could undo yet again decades of judicial precedence.  Schumer, speaking at a rally, said that the justices would “pay the price” for an “awful decision”.  Schumer’s office says he was talking about a political price from a grassroots movement if the court strikes down Roe v Wade.  Was Schumer’s rhetoric over the top?  Probably, but let’s talk all of this in context.  The Roberts Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act, ruled that money equals speech, lifted all limits for corporations to contribute dark money to political candidates, refused to step in to stop racial gerrymandering, and has contributed to the systematic dismantling of the nation’s gun safety laws.  The abortion case is just another log on the fire.  But all this is not the point.

Roberts publicly rebuked Schumer for his language yesterday, but has ignored jury tampering, intimidation of judges, threats against jurors and judges, and inciting violence towards the judiciary by none other than the president of the United States.  The Court’s conservative majority has also repeatedly endorsed Trump’s racist and illegal immigration policies as well as allowing him to turn the entire US government on its head. The hypocrisy is unsettling, if not shocking, so Roberts sudden concern over Schumer’s language made me burst out laughing when I read his statement yesterday.

Message to Roberts – If you’re concerned about politicians’ rhetoric to the court you need to go buy a mirror, hang it on the wall, and then look deeply into it.  YOU are just a culpable for the disaster that has been made of our system of government and the continuous threats it endures.

File under This will Give You Whiplash, Trump filed suit today against The NY Times for an opinion piece claiming libel and defamation. He didn’t like that the piece pointed out the obvious that his campaign had a quid pro quo with Russia to damage Hillary for Trump’s benefit.  As we are all painfully aware, Trump spews a stream of insults, falsehoods, lies, and defamation in a continuous stream, including public and private figures.  His case will be almost impossible to prove, and this being NY state court, the case will likely be dismissed in short order.  No matter, though, Trump loves to threaten legal action against critics as a tactic to silence them.

This won’t work, but it just shows how far we’ve fallen that the president of the United States is now attempting to use the courts to punish his political critics.

In an interview with ABC News today, Bill Barr said Trump’s tweets are making it “impossible to do my job,” and that he won’t be bullied into doing anything.  He also said, “I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” and that he’s prepared for any consequences of crossing Trump.  He continued saying he can’t do his job with a continuous background of commentary from Trump on criminal cases.

It’s a rare split from His Orangeness; Barr’s sudden reversal is just one sign of the chaos at DOJ and the FBI that Trump has created.  A mutiny is certainly underway and Barr had to step in.

A little ray of sunshine in the dark abyss of Trump corruption.

Oh, and a message to Ted Cruz and John Cornyn…This is all on you.

Yes, you read that correctly.  Last year, Barr’s DOJ granted over $1 million to Hookers for Jesus and the Lincoln Tubman Foundation while denying established organizations Catholic Charities of Miami and Chicanos Por La Causa in Phoenix. Why?  Hookers for Jesus was founded by a conservative christian and anti-gay activist, Annie Lobert.  She is a former prostitute who supposedly ministers to sex workers in Las Vegas.  Oh, and she’s anti-gay.  The Lincoln Tubman Foundation was started in 2018 by the daughter of a Trumpist who was actually a Trump delegate at the 2016 Republican convention.

Why were the more established charities denied?  Both organizations are active with Democrats and oppose cruel Trump immigration policy.  So Trump has even corrupted US charitable grants, damaging those who oppose him and helping friends.  He doesn’t care what it looks like.

As if that meant anything.

In a silent show of resistance, Nancy Pelosi stood behind Trump who was basking in the glow of corrupt Republican adoration and tore his speech to shreds.  It was brilliant.  Have a look: