Halpern Leaves Justice Dept. Over Barr’s ‘Slavish Obedience’ To Trump | The Last Word | MSNBC

Phillip Halpern joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss his resignation from the Justice Department after 36 years because of how Attorney General Barr has politicized the department “when he kowtows, acts as a lap dog to the president” rather than serving the interests of the American people. Aired on 10/15/2020.
» Subscribe to MSNBC:

About The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell:
Drawing upon his experience as a former chief of staff on the Senate Finance Committee and as an Emmy-winning executive producer and writer of ""The West Wing,"" Lawrence O'Donnell examines the compelling and impactful political stories of the day. O'Donnell convenes diverse panels of guests, including a variety of politicians and cultural voices, to offer unique viewpoints and perspective. In his signature style, O'Donnell highlights the latest news developments and offers his take on the political stories driving the national conversation.

MSNBC delivers breaking news, in-depth analysis of politics headlines, as well as commentary and informed perspectives. Find video clips and segments from The Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, Meet the Press Daily, The Beat with Ari Melber, Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace, Hardball, All In, Last Word, 11th Hour, and more.

Connect with MSNBC Online
Visit msnbc.com:
Subscribe to MSNBC Newsletter:
Find MSNBC on Facebook:
Follow MSNBC on Twitter:
Follow MSNBC on Instagram:

Halpern Leaves Justice Dept. Over Barr’s ‘Slavish Obedience’ To Trump | The Last Word | MSNBC

104 comments

    1. Bear with me as I’m not American. Does it actually say that? I hope it’s just a joke. The function of a servant of the people honors the public, not the other way around. Otherwise it would definitely make sense to bump him off that pedestal.

    2. @Charisma Hornum-Fries Yes it does say that. It goes back to our early days in our country. I am not sure but I believe it is a carry over from Jolly old England.

      Like many letters from the time were signed Your Servant.

    1. @Alvaro Molina yes!!! They Lie & then tell their people, these outlandish, conspiracy theories…. fox news is bought & paid for & complicit in all this.

    2. Our country has let this traitor run amok, making a laughing stock out of us, pillaging our tax dollars for his personal business and wealth, including using the AG office as his personal attorney. VOTE AND VOTE BLUE is the only way to rid the U.S. and the world of the mess Trump has made.

    1. @Bella Marie 😂😂😂 He will be too focused on continuing to sell his political position to the highest bidder ( China of course). Hunter will be busy busy between cocaine, human trafficking and stealing money with his daddy. He loves his daddy so much that they share the bank account.

    2. @takamex Interesting that you make accusations against Biden, yet no mention of Trump’s lifelong criminal activities that he is still engaging in.

    1. @Cynthi Carlson
      Just wondering if you had any proof or anything that shows biden accomplished anything?
      Msnbc attacks Trump endlessly , but
      Why do we not hear from them why little girl sniffer biden is a great leader? What are bidens career accomplishments? He has none
      Flat out he has biden in the shadows for fear people will find out how truly stupid he is , for Pete’s sake he can’t even write his own speeches , he steals them from actual great men
      Have you actually listened to him? How many times has he said something stupid , hundreds
      For instance talking about Obama
      Saying he was articulate , smart , something you wouldn’t expect from a black man
      Biden is a turd

    2. @Kevin Childs he has this copied and he pastes it every day.. it’s a pathetic move taken from his piggy daddy’s playbook, except that @Dave has no relevance and no audience.

    1. I wonder if Barr when being questioned for criminal behaviour will think serving his Lord and Master will have been worth it?😏

    2. hehe true. Bar should have explained that you just can’t arrest someone b/c you want it. Trumpee had had over 4000 lawsuits he thinks civil and criminal law are the same

    3. “Barr??? Was he a coffee boy? I heard about him but really don’t know him”. By the way, why are my trousers wet? Where is this water coming from? The floor, why is it tilting so much? Well, make my life boat ready, the one that came from Moscow or was that Chyna? Hey! Barr can row it for me”.😛😛😛

  1. When Cindy McCain, Rudi Giuliani’s daughter and Donald Trump’s family members are voting for Biden, you know it’s time to say #ByeDon 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

    1. @David Gee Will do.. I was thinking to respond to Dave’s ignorant comment but what is the point.
      The cult will dissipate when T-rump leaves office and goes to jail.

    2. @Dave you’re an imbecile. There is something seriously wrong with you. You’ve been told this before I’m sure.

    1. It will be a nice change for him to have an orange suit covering him, instead of the other way around.

    2. If Biden/Harris and their Administration are smart, they will sic the Legall Department after Trump, Barr and all those enablers…..they MUST do it to the fullest extent of the law in order to restore faith by the electorate that the kind of crimes Trump and his wingman did will be punished. Otherwise people will just give up and not bother with supporting any Government.

    1. Hopefully all of the rest of his cronies and lapdogs want be there much longer to. If people would just see how evil and indecent he is. Vote Vote him out and all the rats will run!🇺🇸🇺🇸

    1. @Rage, Tears, Regrets and Fears Exactly! After Nixon’s crimes came out the Republicans had an early vote and they were gonna impeach him! That’s why he stepped down, he knew he had no chance. And those Republicans made speeches on the floor, saying they were doing this for POSTERITY, to show that NO MAN is above the Constitution. I guess the message was lost. But Nixon’s Southern Strategy actually did start this horrible racist politics and that’s their legacy. Every time they tell me that we Dems are the party of slavery, I’m like: show me ONE Dem flying a Confederate flag!?

    2. Agreed. Just don’t forget what they have become. They are counting on America’s short attention span. It is a sad loss to lack earnest debate between parties when one side is completely corrupt (Republicans) and the other side is half corrupt, weak and confused. This is a crucial time on the global scale and we are losing. We may have already lost. I know it sounds weird but these few years seem like a critical time that was missed. Not just in covid, but also in shifting our economy. China is getting a leg up in so many areas, especially renewable energy, while we have paused or gone backwards. Trump and Republicans do not deserve all the blame, but they will get it because of the last three years. (Sorry for the rambling reply)

    3. @fortunado66 I couldn’t have said it better. We missed a crucial window. Trump just launched an all-out trade war with Iran, and a Cold War with China, the new superpower. GOP won’t shut up about making us independent from China, but it’s China who want to be independent from us. And he’s given us no trade alternative. He has banned us from selling microchips to China, our biggest buyer, and China is already buying them from other countries, same with precious earth metals. He’s such a COVIDiot, I can’t even with him. He has decimated our country in thousands of ways. His auto industry tariffs and a bunch of other BS

    4. @fortunado66 and for decades the Dems have been playing appeasement!!
      *”It’s not that the Democrats are playing checkers and the Republicans are playing chess. It’s that the Republicans are playing chess and the Democrats are in the nurse’s office because once again they glued their balls to their thighs.”*
      _—Jon Stewart_

      *”I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.”* _—Will Rogers_

    5. Trump’s base is every bit a corrupt as he is. That is why they love him they are all criminals of a like mind.

    1. Some dictators were patriotic, putting their idea of nation over the interest of real persons. It’s a chance that Trump is a stupid dictator wannabe

  2. The Orange Clown in Chief believes that the Justice department serves the needs of HIM, rather than that of the AMERICAN PEOPLE. That’s who we have as commander in chief.

    1. You are absolutely right. But he didn’t change, he was always like this. It was a shame he was elected four years ago. The American people have to pay the bill about that now. I hope they take the desicion to turn around. Fascism is ahead of you, remember Germany in the 1930’s….

    2. Everybody on the planet serves the needs of HIM! If they don’t he fires them. He would fire GOD if he could find him!

    1. But the swamp turtle Moscow Mitch has a beak, gotta be worth something even if it isn’t actual teeth. A Snapping turtle can do a lot of damage …

    1. @Alex Hamilton we dont need to give you examples. There are examples almost every week. Youre willfully ignoring objectivity. Youre troll baiting ain’t working here, hun 🥰

    1. @Simon Frederiksen : I don’t think so. I think there are going to be massive shocks that outrage the public, once Biden’s administration is able to remove all the obstacles to the truth? And, there is legislation for National Security trials that circumvents all the usual, “show time,” trials that trump is used to. Getting there may be complex, for a while, but not for long. There will be reform and reconstruction going on at the same time. And the public outcry will be huge. So much so, that I bet Barr won’t even be IN AMERICA on Biden’s Inauguration Day? Seriously. The most dangerous time will be in the months between the election and the Inauguration. Let’s see how many shredders they get through? But, there will ALWAYS be some civil servants, unwilling to go along, who will blow the whistle. Barr is at the top of the Justice Leagues list. Right next to the Orange Orifice 😉👍

    2. @Ash Roskell See I fear the reaction you’re talking of will have as much effect as the reconstruction after the civil war – purely cosmetic which will do nothing for the supreme court or courts in general, the militias, the industry regulations, the environmental regulations, with a conservative backlash that will hit as hard as the Jim Crow era did.

    3. His pic should be right in FRONT of John Mitchell, this GUY has taken it to a whole other level!!! He should also have a BIGLY Fat Orange Booty print, tattooed to his face!!!

    4. Correction: Barr is Crooked Trump’s henchman and hitman! He not only covers up Crooked Trump’s crimes and goes after his accusers, but kills for him as well (See Epstein)!

  3. If this keeps going as planned it won’t be “America land of the free” anymore. It’ll be , “America home of authoritarianism”.

    1. Actually I think we all know who finances this destruction of the world’s most powerful democracy. Remember the “Bromance” with which a KGB man trained in mind games brain washed his admiring adjunctive operative with a strong handshake and a twinkle in his eyes? We lost cause the Administration sold out for a second colonial rebellion of white privileged authority.

    1. Bill Barr is….pick one….

      .Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945) …
      Rudolf Hess (1894-1987) …
      Adolf Eichmann (1906-1962) …
      Hermann Göring (1893-1946)
      Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945) .

    2. He’s also a henchman for the right wing extremists hence the debacle in Charlottesville and his constraint in condemning them. He’s no better than Breitbart founder Andrew Breitbart and Steve Bannon.

    1. Barr’s “credentials” for “AG” reminds me a lot of the Larry Kudlow story. For those who don’t know, Kudlow is Trumps “National Economic Advisor”, who was fired by Bear-Stearns for cocaine/alcohol abuse, bounced around CNBC as the “smartest guy in the room”, then “anointed” by TRUMP. You’ll never believe this but he has NEVER took an economics course in his life! The next time he comes to the podium, you will, as I always have, suspect he is DRUNK.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.