Conservative Washington Post columnist Max Boot issued a serious warning to Attorney General Bill Barr: You could end up sleeping with the fishes.
Writing Thursday, Boot explained that Barr is slated to officially step down ahead of the Christmas holiday to spend more time with his family. But as any viewer of James Bond films knows, the henchmen of "the boss" usually end up being offed by the end of the film.
"If Bond doesn’t kill you, your own boss likely will," said Boot. "SPECTRE doesn’t tolerate failure, and those who don’t succeed are likely to be dismissed not just from their jobs but from their lives. You would think that Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Dr. No, Le Chiffre and all the rest would show some consideration to the loyal henchmen who labor so hard to carry out their plots for world domination. But no. One mistake and you’re fed to the sharks or piranhas — or simply electrocuted in your chair."
Looking at the president's former allies, Boot recalled how things turned out for Trump's "fixer" Michael Cohen, who ended up in jail because he did everything Trump told him. When it became clear that Cohen would become the fall-guy he stood up for himself and revealed the truth about Trump.
While Roger Stone lucked out with clemency, his home was raided by the FBI and he spent a hefty sum to defend himself from his felonies. If any future investigations into the Justice Department reveal the clemency was an obstruction of justice, Stone could still be sent to the clink.
Paul Manafort has lucked out, escaping Rikers Island Prison so he could spend his "arrest" for bank and tax fraud at his Virginia home with his $1 million in rugs.
Then there were the slate of aides to Trump like Defense Secretary Mark Esper, frequently referred to as "Yesper," for refusing to stand up to Trump. His career ended with a tweet, "Mark Esper has been terminated." Former house Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) was dedicated to Trump's agenda, now he's nothing but a RINO, according to Trump.
Even Fox News has spent the past five years defending Trump, carrying his water, defending his absurdities, and allowing him whatever time he wanted on their network without providing equal times to Democrats. Now, he's waging a war to take them down because they called Arizona for Biden on Election Night.
Barr has been a loyal henchman thus far, but in the end, that isn't what Trump remembers.
"Trump tweeted on Monday that Barr had 'done an outstanding job' but was 'leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family,'” wrote Boot. "But otherwise Trump has made little attempt to hide his fury at his attorney general. He was irate before the election that Barr refused to indict Democrats such as Joe Biden for unspecified crimes. It was, Trump said, 'a very sad, sad situation.' Barr further saddened his boss by admitting that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud. Sadness turned to “sayonara” with the news that Barr had properly refused to disclose investigations of Hunter Biden’s financial dealings. 'Bill Barr should have stepped up,' Trump fumed."
The advantage to Barr, over a typical henchman, is that he likely has the receipts on Trump and what he has done to protect the president.
"I wonder if Trump’s toadies saw it coming? Or did they somehow miss decades of Bond movies?" Boot closed. "I hope at least they will enjoy an ice-cold martini — shaken, not stirred — to tranquilize their fall from presidential grace."