When The Attorney General Sent Federal Troops To Guard Courthouse, Congress Demanded Answers
Democrats were outraged when the Trump administration dispatched federal troops to Portland to quell a violent left-wing insurrection.
Outgoing Attorney General William Barr said Monday he saw "no reason" to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden.
Barr, in his final press conference before leaving the Trump administration, assured reporters that the investigation into Biden's business dealings with foreign associates is "being handled responsibly and professionally."
"I have not seen a reason to appoint a special counsel, and I have no plan to do so before I leave," he said.
His announcement is sure to disappoint President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress who have been pushing for the appointment of special counsels to investigate President-elect Joe Biden's son. Trump reportedly has repeatedly asked for an independent investigator to be appointed so that the next president could not interfere with the investigation of his family's business deals.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) endorsed the idea last week, speaking to reporters about the issue.
"I think it's a good idea," he said. "Let me say this, if you believe a special counsel is needed to look at the Trump rule regarding Russia, how can you say there is no need for special counsel regarding Hunter Biden?"
Continuing, he said, "It's not just the allegation of tax evasion, which is being looked at, and he's presumed innocent, but it's his business dealings, emails about setting up an office and [giving] the keys to the Vice President Joe Biden ... I don't know if that's accurate or not, but how far integrated into the Ukraine economy did Hunter Biden get?"
The president-elect said last Thursday he's not worried about the investigation or the allegations of corruption surrounding Hunter Biden.
"We have great confidence in our son," the elder Biden told Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show."
Hunter Biden is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for tax issues and other financial transactions with Chinese business associates. Biden recently revealed that the U.S. attorney's office in Delaware has opened an investigation into his tax affairs, releasing a statement about the matter. According to the Associated Press, the investigation began in 2018, before Biden's father declared his candidacy for president, but the Justice Department did not disclose the existence of the investigation until now because of a policy against doing so during an election year.
Despite the policy, in October, Sinclair Broadcasting Group's James Rosen reported the existence of an FBI investigation into Hunter Biden and his associates, focusing on allegations of money-laundering. The report was covered by conservative media, but at the time largely ignored in the mainstream press.
President Donald Trump tweeted that Attorney General William Barr told him he would be resigning during a meeting with him Monday afternoon.
"Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family," tweeted the president.
Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very g… https://t.co/SDE0UDK6IX— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1607985541.0
"Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all!" he added in a second tweet.
Trump also publicly posted Barr's resignation letter that praised the president for his accomplishments.
"I am greatly honored that you called on me to serve your Administration and the American people once again as Attorney General. I am proud to have played a role in the many successes an unprecedented achievements you have delivered for the American people," Barr wrote in the letter.
He went on to list the president's accomplishments, from restoring military strength to overseeing the development of a stronger economy. He also excoriated the president's political enemies for attempting to "cripple" the administration with "frenzied and baseless accusations of collusion with Russia."
Barr said his last day on the job would be Dec. 23, the Associated Press reported.
Speculation arose that the president might fire Barr after he made a statement denying evidence of voter fraud that would overturn the election. The president also complained when a report claimed Barr knew about a federal investigation into Hunter Biden months before the election but did not reveal it in accordance with DOJ guidelines.
Barr also said in his statement that the Department of Justice would continue investigating claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Trump announces Attorney General Barr's resignationwww.youtube.com
President Donald Trump criticized U.S. Attorney General William Barr after a report claimed that he knew about the federal investigation into Hunter Biden before the election.
The report from the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday that Barr knew about two investigations into his business dealings at about the time that his father was vice president of the United States.
The Department of Justice has rules against taking investigative steps that would have an affect on any election, and Barr's decision to keep the investigations under wraps might have been in order to satisfy that policy.
On Friday the president reacted negatively to the report via his social media account.
"Now it turns out that my phone call to the President of Ukraine, which many, including me, have called 'perfect', was even better than that," tweeted Trump.
Now it turns out that my phone call to the President of Ukraine, which many, including me, have called “perfect”, w… https://t.co/rbk7zyMLyQ— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1607691147.0
"I predicted Biden corruption, said to call the A.G. [Bill Barr], who perhaps knew of the corruption during the impeachment hoax?" he added.
The president was referring to a conversation he had with Ukrainian President Zelensky where he asked him to look into charges of corruption against former Vice President Joe Biden. Democrats impeached the president partly over the call because they said it was an abuse of power.
While accusations of criminal activity by Hunter Biden were tossed around before the election by allies of the president, the existence of a federal investigation was revealed on Wednesday.
"I learned yesterday for the first time that the US Attorney's Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs," said Hunter Biden in a statement put out by the Biden Harris transition team.
"I take this matter very seriously, but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors," he added.
A later report said that the probe was much more expansive than his "tax affairs," and could include accusations of money laundering and illegal conduct with foreign countries.
Trump rips Barr over report he knew about Hunter Biden probewww.youtube.com
Attorney General William Barr authorized prosecutors on Monday to look into allegations of election fraud in a letter after the media called the election despite claims of voting irregularities in several contests.
The Associated Press reported that the memo from Barr instructed prosecutors that investigations "may be conducted if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State."
However, he also cautioned against pursuing less credible claims.
"While serious allegations should be handled with great care, specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims should not be a basis for initiating federal inquiries," Barr wrote.
Media outlets called the election on Saturday for former Vice President Joe Biden based on a projection from reported vote counts, but President Donald Trump has claimed numerous times that he won by a large margin and that Democrats are attempting to steal the election.
Some supporters of the president praised the development.
"GREAT news from the DOJ & AG William Barr," tweeted Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.). "Every legal vote should be counted. Every fraudulent vote should be removed."
"Barr lives!" said BlazeTV host Steve Deace.
Others, like CNN legal analyst Elie Honig, saw the move as a politically motivated weaponization of the Department of Justice.
"Barr already has turned DOJ into a political weapon for Trump," tweeted Honig.
Barr already has turned DOJ into a political weapon for Trump. Now he has crossed the last line of independence, an… https://t.co/qDZlXRqPbC— Elie Honig (@Elie Honig)1604966897.0
"Now he has crossed the last line of independence, and violated DOJ's own policy, by using the prosecutorial power to try to gin up support for Trump's desperate, last-ditch fraud narrative," he claimed. "He's way off the rails now."
While others pointed to a sentence in the statement that emphasized the DOJ had not yet confirmed any fraud that had changed the election.
"Nothing here should be taken as any indication that the Department has concluded that voting irregularities have impacted the outcome of any election," wrote Barr.
The states have until Dec. 9 to finalize their results and resolve any disputes. On Dec. 14, the Electoral College will finalize the outcome of the election.
BREAKING: Barr announces DOJ investigation into presidential electionwww.youtube.com
President Donald Trump indicated yesterday that Attorney General William Barr could have more than enough evidence to indict members of the Obama administration – including former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden – for allegedly spying on his campaign in 2016. But, will the Department of Justice ever indict anyone involved?
President Trump authorized the "total declassification" of any and all documents related to the Russia probe, as well as the FBI's investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's email debacle, on Tuesday.
"I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax. Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!" Trump tweeted.
Then, during a Thursday morning interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, the president indicated that the DOJ has "plenty" of evidence against Obama administration officials whom he said "spied on my campaign."
"These people should be indicted," Trump told Bartiromo. "This was the greatest political crime in the history of our country, and that includes Obama and it includes Biden. These are people that spied on my campaign. And we have everything. Now they say they have much more, okay, and I say, 'Bill [Barr], we got plenty, you don't need anymore'."
Rep. Jim Jordan joined The Glenn Beck Radio Program Friday to discuss the evidence President Trump may have been referring to, and whether he thinks the DOJ will actually indict anyone involved if the evidence supports his claims.
Glenn also asked Jordan if any Republicans in Congress are looking into how the Transition Integrity Project may lay out an even more insane attempt to oust President Trump. Learn more about the Transition Integrity Project here.
Watch the video below to catch more of Glenn's conversation with Rep. Jim Jordan:
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