No doubt about it. The president’s AG nominee William Barr is in town to save Trump. But how? Firing Mueller or making the Special Counsel investigation difficult? Maybe not. How about Barr’s suggesting that Trump pardon anyone who could implicate him? Bloomberg’s Noah Feldman thinks senators should be more concerned about Barr’s suggesting that strategy to Trump in Barr’s confirmation hearing next week:
“Here’s why: the most significant single act of Barr’s career in the Department of Justice was to advise President George H.W. Bush to pardon six officials from Ronald Reagan’s administration, including Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, for crimes associated with the Iran-Contra affair. At the time, Barr was — you guessed it — attorney general. His recommendation gave Bush the cover he needed to issue the pardons
And Bush needed the cover. The investigation led by independent prosecutor Lawrence Walsh was closing in on the president himself. Walsh had demanded that Bush turn over a campaign diary that he kept in 1986. Bush failed to do so, presumably because the diary showed he knew more about Iran-Contra than he had let on. Walsh publicly condemned Bush’s failure to produce the diary as “misconduct” by the sitting president.
Issuing the pardons killed Walsh’s investigation — and saved Bush. When the targets of the investigation were off the hook, Walsh had no leverage to continue.”
President H.W. Bush issued six pardons in 1992—with Barr’s recommendation--that:
“... swept away one conviction, three guilty pleas and two pending cases, virtually decapitating what was left of Mr. Walsh's effort, which began in 1986.”
And saving W.H. Bush. Would Trump like to decapitate Mueller’s effort? You bet. Enter William Barr.