William Barr tips off just how afraid he is of Robert Mueller’s public testimony

Attention Palmer Report readers: sign up for our free mailing list here
-----
Note from Bill Palmer: if each of you reading this can kick in $10 or $25, it'll help keep Palmer Report firing on all cylinders at this crucial time in our nation's history: Donate now


Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller is now just nine days away from publicly testifying before Congress, where he’ll be asked about his investigation into Donald Trump’s crime spree, and about Attorney General William Barr’s attempted coverup of the findings. Barr just gave away that he’s not looking forward to how this is likely to go for him.

William Barr is telling the Associated Press that Robert Mueller’s testimony will be a “public spectacle” and that “I don’t think Mueller should be treated that way or subject himself to that, if he doesn’t want to.” In other words, Barr is all but begging Mueller not to show up and testify – and that only tells us one thing.

If Barr felt that his handling of the Mueller report was on the up-and-up, if Barr felt safe that Mueller was going to decline to address Barr’s coverup, he wouldn’t be pushing for Mueller not to testify. Instead, Barr is giving away that he worries about how this will play out. Barr knows that his reputation is already permanently in the shredder, so it’s fair to conclude that Barr worries that the damage Mueller will do to him may be more than reputational.

The unintentionally hilarious part is that William Barr is trying to convince Robert Mueller not to testify by framing Mueller as the victim of craven House members who want to “grill” him. When you resort to logic this laughably disingenuous, it’s because you don’t have any better argument left to make. This also suggests that Barr doesn’t have any legal tricks up his sleeve for trying to forcibly stop Mueller from testifying.

Attention Palmer Report readers: sign up for our free mailing list here
-----
Note from Bill Palmer: if each of you reading this can kick in $10 or $25, it'll help keep Palmer Report firing on all cylinders at this crucial time in our nation's history: Donate now