Another Take

One thing that has become abundant clear since release of the Mueller Report is that the current Attorney General, William Barr, is an utter disgrace and one of the worst to hold that position in the last century. He openly lies and has obliterated the objective autonomy between the Justice Department and the White House.

A lot of legal experts, both conservative and left of center, have spoken out harshly about his recent behavior. And it's increasingly difficult to find any lawyer of merit outside the current administration who will speak up in his defense.

To this end, Jonathan Chait at New York magazine wrote an interesting piece last week (link here) with the straightforward title of "Congress Should Impeach William Barr." Given Barr's behavior since the report's release, it's all the more relevant.

This week, Donald Trump demanded everyone currently and formerly working in his administration should ignore Congressional subpoenas and refuse to appear before Congress, a blatantly unconstitutional act. And Barr is now publicly backing him on that.

Impeaching Barr would be an interesting end run around impeaching Trump and put certain key Republican senators on the defensive as they face a potentially difficult reelection campaign next year. It would also upend an administration that seems hell bent on upending Congress right now and knock it back on the defensive.

It would also be a great way, through the impeachment trial in the Senate, to expose important evidence about Trump himself. If the White House is determined to turn Washington upside down by ignoring Congress's oversight duty, Congress should upright it again with an impeachment of the Attorney General.