Attorney General Barr says what Michael Flynn did "was not a crime"

CBS News ^ | May 8, 2020 | by Catherine Herridge

[Oldeconomybuyer]

In an exclusive interview with CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge, Barr dismissed the notion from critics that he is doing the bidding of Mr. Trump.

Catherine Herridge: The last thing most Americans remember about General Flynn is that he was fired. And that he admitted lying to the FBI. Does the fact remain that he lied?

Attorney General William Barr: Well, you know, people sometimes plead to things that turn out not to be crimes. ... And the Department of Justice is not persuaded that this was material to any legitimate counterintelligence investigation. So it was not a crime.

When a special counsel report was released last year, you were accused by critics of putting your thumb on the scale in the president's favor. Are you doing the president's bidding in General Flynn's case?

No, I'm doing the law's bidding. I'm doing my duty under the law, as I see it.

You know you're going to take a lot of incoming ... for this decision. Are you prepared for that?

Yea, I'm prepared for that. I also think it's sad that nowadays these partisan feelings are so strong that people have lost any sense of justice.

What should Americans take away from your actions in the Flynn case today?

I was concerned people were feeling there were two standards of justice in this country. ... I wanted to make sure that we restore confidence in the system.

[Savage Beast]

As I say: "Hannah Arendt was right that the greatest evils result from a remarkable shallowness and unwillingness to think in unremarkable people. Some of them find false assurance, from certain accumulated credentials, that they are somehow not unremarkable, but their very shallowness, moral and intellectual, and disinclination to think prove their banality."

It is the responsibility of those in the news media to inform the public truthfully. In fact, this is their only legitimate purpose. The corrupt new media has abjured this responsibility in favour of the most banal political propaganda. It is a disgrace. They have utterly dishonoured themselves and their profession.

[Pollard]

I was concerned people were feeling there were two standards of justice in this country. ... I wanted to make sure that we restore confidence in the system.

Well you've got a long way to go Mr Barr. A really long way. There are dozens of people still walking around free after doing things that would put the rest of us behind bars for a very long time.

[lizma2]

I’m puzzled too. Was he that naïve?

I hope who ever suggested for him to go there is off his friend list!