Acting on his last formal day in office, Attorney General William Barr disciplined FBI Director William Sessions for "misusing government funds" and refusing to cooperate in a Justice Department probe of his personal finances. Unfortunately, the timing and the nature of the order create more questions than answers.
A bare-knuckled report by Barr's Justice Department accuses Sessions of, among other things, evading income taxes on the use of an FBI limousine for travel to and from his home, commandeering an FBI plane for personal trips and improperly using $10,000 in government money to build a security fence around his home.The charges against Sessions, based on a report from the Office of Professional Responsibility, the Justice Department's internal watchdog unit, are deemed administrative in nature and carry no criminal penalties. Sessions himself called the findings "political shenanigans in an attempt to taint my reputation and leadership of the bureau."
At this point, Sessions' response appears more credible than Barr's assertions.
The accusations are at odds with Sessions' reputation for high-minded propriety. He took a $7,000 pay cut and gave up ironclad job security on the federal bench to head the FBI, where he has done a good of of making the agency more racially diverse and of keeping it politically independent.
Only the president can fire Sessions, and Sessions has five years remaining of a 10-year term as FBI director. So far, it appears that Bill Clinton has no bone to pick with Sessions. In fact, Clinton aides who were involved in a review of the Justice Department recommended that no action be taken.
Rep. Don Edwards, D-Calif., chair of the House Judiciary subcommittee on civil and constitutional rights, praised Sessions as "a very good director" and asserted that Barr's actions against Sessions are personal in nature.
Whether they were personal or not, Barr certainly acted in an inappropriate manner by taking the action on his last day in office - as Edwards said, "to hit and run."
What is now known about the charges suggests that whether they are substantiated or not, they might be of minor importance. Couldn't we expect the FBI director to use a limousine to travel to his office from his home, for instance?
It appears that Barr used the power of his office to stain Sessions' reputation while knowing full well he would have no opportunity to see the matter through to conclusion.
Any further investigation into the allegations against Sessions ought to include a close look at Barr's last actions on the job, too.