Politics - News Analysis

‘Bill Barr Should Lose His Law License Over Twitter Subpoena Into Nunes Parody:’ Outrage Grows as Experts Learn More

As we reported yesterday, a sealed subpoena issued in grand jury proceedings (convened to review embarrassingly weak charges against a Twitter user) was unsealed on Monday, resulting in an avalanche of outrage with Bill Barr’s DOJ. The DOJ sought the subpoena under the ridiculous guise that the parody Nunes account constituted an illegal threat to interstate commerce. In reality, the subpoena was nothing more than an attempt to unmask the person in order to intimidate and perhaps punish the account holder. At the very least, it would force the account holder to hire an attorney if charged.

Normally, the subpoena would be the responsibility of the U.S. Attorney overseeing the district in which it was filed. But there is no way in hell that a case involving a sitting U.S. Congressman who had already been sanctioned by many courts for filing frivolous lawsuits would not involve a decision by Attorney General Bill Barr. The fallout from the revelation is only now gaining steam and the anger is not directed at the attorney signing the subpoena, but at Bill Barr himself. It has been called a gross abuse of power. It is seen as so dangerous and beyond the pale that now very experienced attorneys with government-DOJ experience are saying that Barr needs to lose his law license.

Given that Grand Jury proceedings are secret (the potential defendant is not notified) we must thank Twitter for standing up to the government (at their expense) and litigating the refusal to grant the identity. Thanks to our friends at Rawstory for providing the raw meat:

It appears to Twitter that the Subpoena may be related to Congressman Devin Nunes’s repeated efforts to unmask individuals behind parody accounts critical of him. His efforts to suppress critical speech are as well-publicized as they are unsuccessful,” Twitter wrote in a motion opposing the unmasking of the author.

“Given Congressman Nunes’s numerous attempts to unmask his anonymous critics on Twitter—described in detail herein—Twitter is concerned that this Subpoena is but another mechanism to attack its users’ First Amendment rights.”

Legal experts blasted Barr’s DOJ for the subpoena. Former Southern District of New York Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Signorelli called for an investigation of the Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) who signed the subpoena.

Former federal prosecutor Daniel Goldman, who served as the majority counsel in Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, said Barr should lose his license to practice law.

And many more weighed in:

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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak

meet the author

Jason Miciak is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is originally from Canada but grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He now enjoys life as a single dad raising a ridiculously-loved young girl on the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He is very much the dreamy mystic, a day without learning is a day not lived. He is passionate about his flower pots and studies philosophical science, religion, and non-mathematical principles of theoretical physics. Dogs, pizza, and love are proof that God exists. "Above all else, love one another."

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