William Barr Archives - Public Seminar

Columnists

‘There Was Nothing There’

Barr calls BS as the ground gives way under the Big Lie

June 28, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ The big news this week was a series of interviews that former attorney general William Barr did with Jonathan D. Karl of The Atlantic: Barr emphasized that former president Donald Trump’s claims that he had won the 2020 election were “bullshit.” What is interesting about this is not the idea that ...

Democracy

“Carl Schmitt’s Comeback?”

Understanding Trump and global authoritarianism

February 17, 2021 • by William E. Scheuerman

As the saying goes: “that was then, but this is now.” I had little inkling that Schmitt would soon become pertinent to present-day political developments. With the dramatic worldwide emergence of authoritarian populism, Schmitt’s thinking seems disturbingly relevant. As the Cambridge jurist Lars Vinx has correctly noted, Schmitt’s significance today ...

Democracy

Stoking the Flames

The Trump wing of the Republican Party continues its attacks on American democracy as the COVID-19 death toll continues to rise

December 10, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

Today’s big story remains the loss of our neighbors to COVID-19. On Wednesday, the official United States death count for 24 hours passed the number of those killed in the 9/11 attacks. On that horrific day in 2001, we lost 2,977 people to four terrorist attacks. On Wednesday, December 9, ...

Democracy

After the Election, New Leadership and Old Cronyism

Joe Biden steps up as the Trump administration manufactures lies in an attempt to hold on — and perhaps profit

November 11, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

I had hoped that the days when the news came like a firehose were over, but so far, no luck. On Monday, the stock market jumped 1200 points in its first day of trading after the announcement of Joe Biden’s victory. Over the course of the day it was up as ...

After the Election, New Leadership and Old Cronyism

Columnists

Joe Biden’s Campaign Moving to Solid Ground as the Trump Team Distracts

Let’s take a closer look at what the Republicans are distracting us from, shall we?

September 22, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

The idea of defunding cities is vague and it is also odd, considering how many Americans actually live in cities. The U.S. Conference of Mayors wrote to Trump on September 7 to ask him to rescind his memorandum, noting that “attacks on America’s cities are attacks on America itself. America’s ...

Joe Biden’s Campaign Moving to Solid Ground as the Trump Team Distracts

Politics

William Barr Will Follow Fake News with Fake Testimony

Settling into the role of Donald Trump’s fixer, the Attorney General takes his first walk up the Hill since confirmation

July 28, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

Attorney General William Barr will testify before the House Judiciary Committee today for the first time. Democrats tried to get him to appear to explain why he had misrepresented what was in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Report about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. He refused to show up after ...

William Barr Will Follow Fake News with Fake Testimony

Politics

The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

They have undermined the sovereignty of nations and mutilated international law

July 13, 2020 • by Vijay Prashad

Ambassador Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, spoke at the same meeting. She praised the charter and called upon the member states of the UN to bring its values into the world. However, Ambassador Craft said, “On far too many occasions, we have seen nations that are parties ...

The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

Politics

Harnessing Federal Power for Police Reform in America

What we can learn from Reconstruction and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

July 8, 2020 • by Richard Johnson and Desmond King

History suggests that the response to the current crisis of policing in the United States must be a stronger role for the federal government. Yet few activists within the Movement for Black Lives are demanding that the federal government flex its coercive muscle. Given the racism of the current occupant ...

Harnessing Federal Power for Police Reform in America

Politics

What is Behind the Ghislaine Maxwell Arrest?

Geoffrey Berman’s forced resignation from SDNY and Maxwell’s arrest may not be a coincidence

July 3, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

Yesterday Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested. Epstein was a super-shady socialite and convicted sex offender who had lots and lots of cash and hobnobbed with elites in the political and financial world. Maxwell was his socialite companion and is alleged to have procured and groomed young girls for ...

What is Behind the Ghislaine Maxwell Arrest?

Politics

Who Would Kick Americans Off Their Health Insurance in the Midst of a Global Pandemic?

Donald Trump, frantic to deliver for his base as his numbers slip, attacks the Affordable Care Act again

June 26, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

Just before midnight on Thursday, July 25, 2020, the Department of Justice filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to invalidate the Affordable Care Act-- also known as Obamacare—the health care law that has enabled millions of Americans to get health insurance. In addition to making healthcare affordable, the law prohibits ...

Who Would Kick Americans Off Their Health Insurance in the Midst of a Global Pandemic?

North America

Simple Is Sometimes Simplistic, and Stupid

Is it Really Smart to Narrow the Impeachment?

October 22, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

A focused impeachment that builds public support is surely a good thing; I’ve been arguing this for the past six months. But it seems extremely foolish to believe that focus can only be achieved through a narrowing of vision, and it seems worse than foolish to believe that Trump’s other abuses of power ...

Blue Monday

Nancy Pelosi May Be Too Clever for Our Own Good

Why only unambiguous opposition to Trump can save us

May 6, 2019 • by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Last week a New York Times profile of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi reported that Pelosi wants the Democrats to “stay in the center,” insisting that for the party to succeed in 2020 it must “own the mainstream.” Pelosi, currently the most powerful Democrat in public office, has surely sought ...

William Barr

‘There Was Nothing There’

Barr calls BS as the ground gives way under the Big Lie

“Carl Schmitt’s Comeback?”

Understanding Trump and global authoritarianism

Stoking the Flames

The Trump wing of the Republican Party continues its attacks on American democracy as the COVID-19 death toll continues to rise

After the Election, New Leadership and Old Cronyism

Joe Biden steps up as the Trump administration manufactures lies in an attempt to hold on — and perhaps profit

Joe Biden’s Campaign Moving to Solid Ground as the Trump Team Distracts

Let’s take a closer look at what the Republicans are distracting us from, shall we?

William Barr Will Follow Fake News with Fake Testimony

Settling into the role of Donald Trump’s fixer, the Attorney General takes his first walk up the Hill since confirmation

The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

They have undermined the sovereignty of nations and mutilated international law

Harnessing Federal Power for Police Reform in America

What we can learn from Reconstruction and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

What is Behind the Ghislaine Maxwell Arrest?

Geoffrey Berman’s forced resignation from SDNY and Maxwell’s arrest may not be a coincidence

Who Would Kick Americans Off Their Health Insurance in the Midst of a Global Pandemic?

Donald Trump, frantic to deliver for his base as his numbers slip, attacks the Affordable Care Act again

Simple Is Sometimes Simplistic, and Stupid

Is it Really Smart to Narrow the Impeachment?

Nancy Pelosi May Be Too Clever for Our Own Good

Why only unambiguous opposition to Trump can save us

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