Clinton slams Barr: He's acting as Trump's defense lawyer, not attorney general

Hillary Clinton attacked Attorney General William Barr after his Wednesday testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. In an MSNBC interview, Clinton said that Barr’s conduct regarding special counsel Robert Mueller’s report was not professional, and she thinks Barr is working for Trump rather than for the people.

“I think he is doing the job he was hired to do. He auditioned for the job with his 19-page memo basically saying there is no such thing as obstruction of justice when it comes to a president. He was hired to make sure that was a reality,” Clinton said. “He has behaved in that way."

Prior to becoming attorney general, Barr sent an unsolicited memo to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein warning the Justice Department that the Mueller investigation could do lasting damage to the presidency. “I think that the Democrats on the committee did a good job today in exposing that he is the president's defense lawyer, he is not the attorney general of the United States,” she said.

Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday and was scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday, although the Justice Department has since announced he will not show up to the hearing, citing “unprecedented” conditions put on by Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/clinton-slams-barr-hes-acting-as-trumps-defense-lawyer-not-attorney-general

Barr blows off House Judiciary hearing in fight over format of questioning

Attorney General William Barr is backing out of a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, escalating a fight with Democrats over the format of questioning.

“Unfortunately, even after the Attorney General volunteered to testify, Chairman Nadler placed conditions on the House Judiciary Committee hearing that are unprecedented and unnecessary," Kerri Kupec, a representative for the Justice Department, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "Congress and the Executive branch are co-equal branches of government, and each have a constitutional obligation to respect and accommodate one another’s legitimate interests. Chairman Nadler’s insistence on having staff question the Attorney General, a Senate-confirmed Cabinet member, is inappropriate.”

Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday evening that the Justice Department notified the panel that Barr will not testify about the federal Russia investigation. "Although we have worked around the clock to address his concerns, Attorney General Barr informed us he will not attend tomorrow's hearing," he said. "Given his lack of candor in describing the work of the special counsel, our members were right to insist that staff be allowed to question the attorney general," Nadler insisted.

In a contentious meeting earlier in the day, the Democrat-led committee voted 21-14, along party lines, to permit to tack on an extra 60 minutes of questioning for staff lawyers to ask Barr questions, in addition to a round for lawmakers to grill him. But Kupec said there was no good reason for this format, saying, "In light of the fact that the majority of the House Judiciary Committee – including Chairman Nadler – are themselves attorneys, and the Chairman has the ability and authority to fashion the hearing in a way that allows for efficient and thorough questioning by the Members themselves, the Chairman’s request is also unnecessary."

Since the weekend, Barr has threatened to pull out of the hearing if it strayed from the typical format. Barr faced questions about special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation from Senate Judiciary Committee members on Wednesday. Lawyers were not involved. Nadler had previously threatened the use of a subpoena to warn Barr against backing out. He gave no indication to reporters Thursday evening that Democrats would back down. "Given his lack of candor in describing the work of the special counsel, our members were right to insist that staff counsel be permitted to question the attorney general," he said, adding the Trump administration "cannot dictate the terms of our hearing." The committee hearing will go on as planned at 9 a.m., and Nadler encouraged Barr to change his mind. Nadler also said the Justice Department failed to comply with a subpoena that mandated Mueller's full, unredacted report be delivered to his committee by a Wednesday deadline. Nadler said he will continue to work with Barr to get access to the full report and underlying evidence "but not for much longer." If DOJ can't reach an agreement in the coming days, Nadler said the "next step is seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general."

In a letter sent to Nadler on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd said the subpoena for full access to Mueller's findings, including grand jury information, was "not legitimate oversight.” The panel's top ranking member, Doug Collins, R-Ga., railed against the format as a de facto impeachment proceeding against President Trump. "The precedent for staff questioning is impeachment, but the problem is they can't bring themselves to bring impeachment," Collins said at the time of the vote. "[They] want the appearance of impeachment to satisfy the base, to talk to others, to impugn integrity, to do whatever to smear the president ahead of the 2020 election." Reacting to Barr not planning to testify on Thursday, Collins accused Nadler of choosing to "torpedo our hearing."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/barr-blows-off-house-judiciary-hearing-in-fight-over-format-of-questioning

Barr to Brief Senators on FBI Spying on Trump in Counterintelligence Briefings

Attorney General William Barr committed on May 1 to brief congressional lawmakers on the possibility that senior FBI officials used counterintelligence briefings with President Donald Trump’s transition team to gather intelligence on the incoming administration. Barr made the commitment during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Justice Department’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote a letter to Barr on April 25 requesting a briefing about Barr’s ongoing review of spying on Trump’s campaign. In that letter, Grassley cited text messages between former senior FBI officials Lisa Page and Peter Strzok that, according to him, appear to suggest that the bureau used counterintelligence briefings with Trump’s transition team “as intelligence gathering operations.” At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on May 1, Grassley asked Barr if he would commit to brief lawmakers on the matter and issue a written response. “Yes, Senator,” Barr said.

Grassley’s letter cites text messages between Strzok and Page, in which they discuss using a “CI guy” at a November 2016 briefing with members of Trump’s transition to see “if thete [sic] are any news [sic] Qs, or different demeanor.” In the same message, Strzok suggests using someone identified as “Katie’s husband” to “see if there are people we can develop for potential relationships.” “Were these efforts done to gain better communication between the respective parties, or were the briefings used as intelligence gathering operations?” Grassley wrote. “Further, did any such surveillance activities continue beyond the inauguration, and in the event they did, were those activities subject to proper predication?”

Barr’s comments at the May 1 hearing were the first since the Justice Department released the final report on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller concluded there isn’t enough evidence to establish that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and the special counsel didn’t reach a decision on whether Trump obstructed justice. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein ruled there was insufficient evidence to bring an obstruction charge. Mueller took over the investigation of the Trump campaign from Strzok and Page. In addition to discussing what appears like an intelligence gathering operation, the pair also spoke about stopping Trump from becoming president, an “insurance policy” in case he won the election, and “impeachment” after Trump became the president-elect.

At the hearing on May 1, Barr also revealed that the FBI failed to warn then-candidate Trump about Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) asked Barr if he was aware of any defensive briefings given to the Trump campaign to warn about Russia’s attempts to interfere in the election. Cornyn referenced a statement by former Attorney General Loretta Lynch noting that such defensive briefings are routine in counterintelligence investigations. Barr said he wasn’t aware of the FBI ever providing Trump with a defensive briefing. “That failure to provide a defensive briefing to the Trump campaign, that would be an extraordinary or notable failure. Would you agree?” Cornyn asked. “I think, under these circumstances, one of the things I can’t fathom is why it didn’t happen. Why if you’re concerned about interference in the election and you have substantial people involved in the campaign … I don’t understand why the bureau would not have gone and given a defensive briefing,” Barr said.

The absence of the briefing is particularly troubling, considering that Strzok was the lead agent running the counterintelligence probe. In addition to talking about stopping Trump from becoming president, Strzok displayed a strong personal bias against Trump.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/barr-to-brief-senators-on-fbi-spying-on-trump-in-counterintel-briefings_2902221.html

Chairmen Press DOJ to Probe FBI ‘Spying’ & Leaks Before & After 2016 Election

https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/chairmen-press-doj-probe-fbi-spying-leaks-after-2016-election

Former CIA agent pleads guilty to conspiring to spy for China

May 1 (UPI) – A former CIA agent pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to spy for China though there is no evidence to show that he shared information with the Asian nation, the Department of Justice said. Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a 13-year veteran of the CIA who was long suspected of espionage, was charged in 2018 with conspiring to communicate, deliver and transmit national defense information to the People's Republic of China.

"Lee sold out his country, conspired to become a spy for a foreign government and then repeatedly lied to investigators about his conduct," U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia G. Zachary Terwilliger said in a statement. "This prosecution should serve as a warning to others who would compromise our nation's secrets and betray our country's trust." Lee, whose trial was set for this week, faces up to life in prison, though sentencing for federal crimes is typically less than the maximin penalty, the United States Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Virginia said.

Court documents show that Lee, 54, began residing in Hong Kong after leaving the CIA in 2007 and was approached by two Chinese intelligence officers there in April 2010 for national defense information. The Chinese agents "prepared for him a gift of $100,000 cash, and they offered to take care of him 'for life' in exchange for his cooperation." From May of that year through to at least May 2011, Lee received "taskings," or requests for information, from the Chinese agents. "The majority of the taskings asked Lee to reveal sensitive information about the CIA, including national defense information," the attorney's office said. That month, Lee created a document containing U.S. national defense information that he transferred to a thumb drive. In August 2012, a court-ordered FBI search of a hotel room in Honolulu, Hawaii, registered to Lee produced the thumb drive and a day planner that contained handwritten notes that included intelligence provided by CIA assets, true names of assets, meeting locations and phone numbers as well as information on covert facilities, the attorney's office said. The FBI also uncovered hundreds of thousands of dollars transferred to his personal HSBC account from May 2010 to December 2013.

During interviews with agents, he repeatedly lied about his finances and the information he was collecting, but he eventually admitted to creating the document on the thumb drive and then deleting it. "He told FBI agents that he had created the document in response to two taskings" from the Chinese agents, the attorney's office said. Lee said he considered handing it over to them but never did.

His arrest was met with cheers from U.S. spies, but they doubted he would be found guilty for the collapse of the United States' asset network in China following the deaths of several CIA sources there, The Washington Post reported. "Today, Mr. Lee accepts responsibility not only for his crimes but also for their dangerous ramifications," said FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence John Brown. "By knowingly aiding a foreign government, Mr. Lee put our country's national security at serious risk and also threatened the safety and personal security of innocent people, namely his former intelligence colleagues."

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/05/01/Former-CIA-agent-pleads-guilty-to-conspiring-to-spy-for-China/3141556765298/

Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers said this is the third case of a former U.S. intelligence officer having plead guilty to spying for Chinese intelligence less than a year. "Every one of these cases is a tragic betrayal of country and colleagues," he said. "The National Security Division will continue to prosecute individuals like Lee who abuse their former access to classified information for financial gain while threatening the security of America." Lee was to be sentenced Aug. 23.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/05/01/Former-CIA-agent-pleads-guilty-to-conspiring-to-spy-for-China/3141556765298/