The Washington Post reports — in its “Daily 202” email— about some bold statements from Trump’s Roy Cohn, meaning from the current holder of the office of Attorney General of the United States, William Barr:
Attorney General Bill Barr lashed out against federal prosecutors during a speech on Wednesday night that made a full-throated case for his absolute right to wade into politically charged cases.
“When something goes wrong at the Department of Justice, the buck stops at the top,” he said. “And because I am ultimately accountable for every decision the department makes, I have an obligation to ensure we make the correct ones. … Anything less is an abdication.”
Barr says further, in defense of the control he’s taken of various cases — like Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, presumably —
“Political accountability — politics! — is what ultimately ensures our system does its work fairly and with proper recognition of the many interests and values at stake. Government power completely divorced from politics is tyranny,” Barr said.
All of which sounds defensible. Except, of course, there’s a problem. Our politics is supposed to be governed by a democratic system. Which Barr would have you believe he agrees with, as when he says that:
if voters are unhappy with the political considerations driving sentencing recommendations by his Justice Department, they can always throw the president and any of the senators who voted to confirm him out of office come Election Day.
And that leads to the necessary follow-up question for Mr. Cohn— or rather, AG Barr:
”Mr. Attorney General, given that you say the ultimate decision on our politics rests with the voters on Election Day, does the rightful power of the person at the top of the Department of Justice extend to his using the powers of his office to sabotage that Election?”