Attorney General William Barr massaged the findings of the Department of Justice investigation into the origins of the Russia probe — and legal experts and other social media users were appalled.

The attorney general claimed this report, like special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, had cleared President Donald Trump of wrongdoing, and insisted the probe had found the FBI had conducted an improper investigation of his 2016 presidential campaign.

“The Inspector General’s report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions that, in my view, were insufficient to justify the steps taken,” Barr said in a statement. “It is also clear that, from its inception, the evidence produced by the investigation was consistently exculpatory.”

So Barr is just another one of trumps free lawyers right? https://t.co/NXr2zf7QVR

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) December 9, 2019

Bill Barr is a GOP operative hack playing the role of Trump's defensive attorney. https://t.co/uZV92sY1Jj

— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) December 9, 2019

In addition to playing clean up for Trump, Barr is also making perfectly clear he will never authorize a criminal investigation of the president. Trump has a free pass for criminality as long as Barr is AG. https://t.co/E78B3msM0y

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) December 9, 2019

There is no other or nice way to say it. Mr. Barr is a damn liar. https://t.co/ZoLTcTLtyV

— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) December 9, 2019

Bill Barr is a dangerous clown.

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 9, 2019

Looks like Barr is back at it. News media—please remember those post-Mueller Report statements by the AG. They were political spin. https://t.co/RjjBDoGz4D

— Julian Zelizer (@julianzelizer) December 9, 2019

I've seen no evidence that Barr is incompetent. He just doesn't believe in the rule of law.

We'd be better off if he were incompetent.

— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) December 9, 2019

It's very, very clear that any hope of the rule of law returning to America under this "attorney general" is futile. The Trump administration is a criminal organization, and Bill Barr is a shameless co-conspirator. https://t.co/vvEaTZ6YNX

— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) December 9, 2019

Barr's still at it: disputing and falsely reimagining his own department's inspector general report. Laughter seems appropriate (as do screams…) https://t.co/uB007F6A2x

— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) December 9, 2019

Bill Barr is by far one of the most dangerous men in America.

— Wajahat "Abu Khadija" Ali (@WajahatAli) December 9, 2019

And Barr is already disagreeing with the IG’s conclusions because they don’t support Trump’s false narrative. We should soon see a statement (maybe 4 pages long?) or press conference from Barr mischaracterizing the IG report just as he did with the Mueller report. https://t.co/ctESxWE7gE

— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) December 9, 2019

I know Bill Barr is a liar. The really fucked up part is that he’s lying to try and destroy the FBI.

— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) December 9, 2019

The Attorney General of the United States is a senior disinformation official.

Barr’s statement to accompany the independent findings of the Inspector General report 👇 is a case of up is down, black is white, and don’t believe your eyes.

Demonstrably—and laughably—false. https://t.co/D80ngS4gHz

— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) December 9, 2019

Never in all of our lives, or the history of the country, have we had an Attorney General as corrupt as William Barr. https://t.co/GeN1Ygbx5G

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) December 9, 2019

Barr isn’t only disingenuous and politically craven—he’s leaving us more vulnerable to legitimate national security threats.

Career officials may hesitate to make tough, but necessary, calls, knowing that political winds could one day put a target on their backs. Disgraceful. https://t.co/5MWHTgQanw

— Ned Price (@nedprice) December 9, 2019

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