Yeomans: Will Barr’s Insurance Policy Fail?

Washington, D.C., December 6, 2019 – In a new column at Yeomans Work, Alliance for Justice Senior Fellow Bill Yeomans sets the scene for the upcoming Inspector General’s report on the Russia investigation and how Attorney General Bill Barr will respond to it. Barr can’t control the content of the IG report, but he is running his own parallel investigation, which Yeomans calls an “insurance policy” to protect the president.

“Barr was committed to satisfy Trump’s demand for investigation of the Russia investigation’s origins and spying on his campaign,” Yeomans explains. With the IG investigation already underway, Barr appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham to conduct a simultaneous review of the Russia investigation. “The existence of Durham’s investigation,” he argues, “allows Barr and Trump’s supporters to keep alive doubts about the validity of the Russia investigation.”

This second investigation can allow Barr to do damage control if he doesn’t like the IG’s findings. The problem, Yeomans warns, is that this “insurance policy” may fail, because leaks suggest that Durham’s findings may also “undermine Trump’s conspiracy claims and Barr’s efforts to prove them.” But that might not stop Barr from just keeping the investigation open, regardless of the consequences to the reputation and morale of the FBI.

Click here to read Yeomans’ full analysis about the upcoming IG report and how to interpret Barr’s response to it.

Yeomans Work focuses on the challenges to the justice system in the era of Trump. Bill Yeomans is available for media interviews. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily represent the positions of Alliance for Justice. For booking inquiries, contact Zack Ford, Press Secretary, at Zack.Ford@afj.org or at 202-464-7370.