Attorney General Bill Barr has entered dangerous new territory as the White House released a memo detailing the call between Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky. A quick point of clarification here, because the traditional media outlets continue to call the White House memo a “transcript,” but a transcript is a verbatim dictation and this memo is most certainly not that at all. It's actually stated in the memo that this is not a transcript.
We’ll have more on that in a bit, but in the meantime, let’s get to what we do know: Attorney General Bill Barr is in deep, deep trouble. In the White House-provided call memo, Donald Trump reportedly said this:
The President: ….. I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I'm sure you will figure it out. I heard the prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fair prosecutor so good luck with everything. Your economy is going to get better and better I predict. You have a lot of assets. It's a great country. I have many Ukrainian friends, their [sic] incredible people.
A minute later, Trump again mentioned he would have Attorney General Bill Barr contact Zelensky. This is important because in the spring of 2019, Donald Trump quite suddenly recalled Maria Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. At the time it was seen as scandalous because Yovanovitch was a respected, career diplomat. But, she apparently wasn’t willing to do the bidding of Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, who were already in the midst of this Ukraine scheme to discredit Joe Biden, President Obama, and even Hillary Clinton. In hindsight, we can see they were laser-focused on the Ukraine. And that’s where Bill Barr’s May appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee may really come back to haunt him.
Sen. Kamala Harris asked Barr very specifically and directly if anyone from the White House had asked him to open an investigation. He stammered. Harris again asked him if anyone suggested he open an investigation. Barr continued stammering and ultimately did not answer the question.
Watch this critical moment in the clip below, in light of what we now know.
It is crystal clear that not only should the attorney general immediately recuse himself from this case and any others involving Donald Trump or Rudy Giuliani, but that the attorney general himself may face some criminal liability for his role in Trump’s corrupt actions around Ukraine, and his possible perjury before the Senate. The United States government should fully pursue the impeachment of Bill Barr and possibly prosecution, as well. A special counsel must be appointed.