Authoritarianism expert warns against ‘blind trust’ in Barr report after his record of ‘exonerating the GOP’
'View from Flyover Country' author Sarah Kendzior on MSNBC (screengrab)

The report that Attorney General Bill Barr will deliver to Congress will summarize the report submitted by special counsel Robert Mueller.


How much faith should be put in Barr's summation is a matter of debate as calls continue to grow for the entire Mueller report to be publicly released.

"We know Trump demands loyalty oaths from the people who work for him," MSNBC anchor Joy Reid noted. "For all we know, William Barr is operating under an oath to the president."

"The challenge I'm having is having confidence that whatever his report -- it's not the Mueller report, it's the Barr report -- and now we're supposed to trust whatever he writes is true?"

"Yeah, I don't think you should trust it," authoritarianism expert Sarah Kendzior replied.

"I don't think we should have blind trust in anything, I don't think we should have blanket distrust in anything, but we should know Trump appoints people who are going to be loyal -- that is the foremost quality he looks for in officials," she explained.

"And the loyalty is not to the United States, it's not to the Constitution, it is not to the American people -- it is purely to Trump, his money, his family, his personal interest and that is why Barr was selected," she continued.

"Barr is also a GOP loyalist. The GOP is equally invested in covering-up these crimes because the broad scope of the Mueller implicates them," Kendzior noted. "You may remember that Michael Cohen was the RNC deputy finance chair."

"So they need somebody who has a record of, you know, exonerating the GOP -- which Barr does," she reminded. "He exonerated people in Iran-contra -- some of whom are now appearing again in the Trump administration."

"So Barr is ideal -- unfortunately -- for this role," Kendzior concluded.

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