April 18, 2019

Trump Tells Americans to Watch Attorney General on Conservative Media

The attorney general already stands accused of working of behalf of the president to spin the special counsel’s report.

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President Donald Trump, appearing either unaware or unworried about Democratic concerns that the Justice Department is working on behalf of the president, encouraged Americans on Thursday to tune into conservative broadcasts of Attorney General William Barr’s morning press conference detailing the conclusions of the special counsel’s Russia investigation.

The tweet, which followed claims of “presidential harassment” and “greatest political hoax,” is likely to fuel outrage on the left, after Barr announced late Wednesday that he intended to hold the news conference before members of Congress or the public had a chance to review a redacted version of the highly anticipated report. The decision has prompted accusations that Barr is working to spin the report in favor of the president, along with calls from top Democrats for special counsel Robert Mueller to publicly testify. 

“We believe the only way to begin restoring public trust in the handling of the Special Counsel’s investigation is for Special Counsel Robert Mueller himself to provide public testimony in the House and Senate as soon as possible,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “The American people deserve to hear the truth.”

“Attorney General Barr is not allowing the facts of the Mueller report to speak for themselves but is trying to bake in the narrative about the report to the benefit of the White House,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said on Wednesday.

Trump’s suggestion to watch Barr’s remarks was followed up shortly with a video montage of himself asserting no wrongdoing in the special counsel’s investigation.

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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