Watch: Powerful Dem Condemns Lawlessness but Then Says He's Ready To Throw AG Barr in Jail
I think we may owe Rep. Rashida Tlaib an apology. On the night she was sworn into office, the Michigan Democrat made headlines by saying what we thought was “We’re gonna go in there and we’re going to impeach the motherf—–!”
I think we might have had it wrong. What she actually meant to say was “We’re gonna go in there and we’re going to impede the motherf—–!”
Our apologies, Rashida. Totally different.
See, now that Robert Mueller’s report is out, the Democrats are getting to all of the really important stuff — like subpoenaing anything and everything short of Stephen Miller’s 8th grade book reports. (A critical oversight, if you ask me — I hear he was insufficiently appreciative of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” typically a warning sign of latent white nationalism.) The point is, impede, impede, impede! No need to actually have a need for a document or some testimony. Just go for it.
The biggest fish in the subpoena pond is the full, unredacted Mueller report from Attorney General William Barr.
Barr has noted that he’s unredacted it to the point where it “would permit review of 98.5 percent of the report, including 99.9 percent of Volume II, which discusses the investigation of the President’s actions.” And then there’s also the fact that some of what Congress is demanding to view is actually grand jury testimony which they can’t legally view.
But that’s not stopping Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat, from calling for Attorney General Barr to be put into cuffs now that he’s been been found in contempt of Congress. (It’s only the House, and then just the Democrats, so it’s actually quite contemptible, but I digress.)
On Tuesday, Doggett appeared on Chris Cuomo’s CNN show, which is becoming more and more like a version of Pinocchio set in adulthood: If the wooden journalist tries really, really hard, maybe he’ll become a real human with a mid-life crisis.
Barr isn’t going to break the law to answer their subpoena, which would technically be breaking the law if he were to fulfill it. It would sort of be a Catch-22 — if anyone in the Democrat caucus had read and absorbed that novel or if anyone in the media cared to explore the parallel, either. Us living in the universe we do, I’ll just be content to make the reference and move along.
Doggett begins the clip by giving a smiling throwback to George Wallace because apparently the Texas Democrat’s superpower is that he’s impervious to industrial-grade shame: “Well, I think we’re informed now by the president’s new policy of obstruction today, obstruction yesterday, obstruction forever.”
Ho ho ho! See, he made a very racially-charged funny. He also claimed that the president was “almost begging for impeachment” and that Barr should be held in “inherent contempt” of Congress.
“Oh, yeah. Inherent contempt. Which is, what?” Cuomo asked.
“What it means, as recognized by the United States Supreme Court in the 19th Century, is that the Congress can on its own part issue a subpoena or support the subpoena through arrest or through fines,” Doggett told the chief justice of anthropomorphic puppet middle-aged-men.
“And I think we need to be prepared to do both.”
“Now I hear you–” Cuomo said before Doggett cut him off. (After all, he becomes a real boy…)
“I don’t want to throw him in jail, but I’m ready to do so,” Doggett said.
Uh, for what? “Inherent contempt?” This is the low bar we’re going with now?
Good luck with that. My guess is that this charade won’t work for as long as it has.
If you’re ready to throw Barr in jail but want to crack down on lawlessness, my guess is voters aren’t going to buy that. And if you’re a Democrat and think I’m wrong, go ahead and try things.
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