What Barr did with his March 24 Summary that hurt the Democrats and helped Trump was FRAME the debate in a way that exonerated Trump — Graham and Cruz and the rest of the GOP lickspittles can hem and haw and say "well there was no obstruction provable etc. and Barr just released the “conclusions” early while being so diligent in releasing the entire report. Big deal. . . you had to wait a few weeks in order to get the whole report . . .so what. But what Barr did was far more influential and far more insidious, which is why we’re now scrambling to catch up.
The FIRST thing we learn in law school is whoever frames the issue wins. Period. End of story. I’m a former DOJ attorney (when working for “Justice” was considered the highest honor.) That lesson has never been disproven. Don’t believe me? Believe “Denny Crane” in Boston Legal. (Season 1 Episode 15) Denny Crane (Shatner) comes up against his son in a case where his son has the far more sympathetic witness and the far stronger argument yet loses against the father. After the verdict, Shatner sees his despondent son in the hallway, sits next to him, and gives him a master primer on why he lost. Shatner emphasizes that whoever frames the issue wins, and that when the son allowed Shatner to frame the issue at that moment the verdict was foregone. EVERY Democrat needs to watch that episode and learn.
The framing is the media narrative, the parameters of the discussion, etc. What people focus on and what lens is used to view the larger question. What Barr did was frame the Mueller report as exonerating Trump by not being able to reach an ironclad conclusion on a criminal charge on obstruction. For three weeks, that’s what the media and the GOP focused on. That Trump was “cleared” even though that’s not what Mueller said. Yes Barr threw in the “well he wasn’t exactly exonerated” but it was like a footnote. All the focus was on the “not enough evidence to prove criminality.” Instead of allowing Mueller to establish the framing in the summaries he had prepared for public release, which were far from exonerating and which detailed the constant attempts to circumvent providing the necessary evidence, Barr insisted his “summary” be released FIRST. That gave the GOP three weeks when they controlled the media narrative.
Once an issue is framed, it’s exceedingly difficult to reframe it. The GOP are masters at messaging and framing. The Democrats with a few notable exception (Schiff, Lieu) suck at it. The Democrats missed a huge opportunity today in their rambling attempts to get Barr to admit what he will never admit (that’s he’s a Trump shill). You don’t ask your opponent’s “witness” to support your case . . you break down his testimony or force him to respond (like Harris did on the “suggest” question . . one of the few bright moments in the hearing).
Just as they did with the Kavanaugh hearing, the GOP took away the framing (from sexual assault to Democratic political hit job on a fine man) and they won. They are doing it here with the Mueller report. Where are the Democrats who will stop grandstanding and ask Barr questions like: “You say there wasn’t enough evidence to prove intent . . . how do you prove intent if the president refuses to testify in person?” Over and over again the Democrats cede the framing and lose the issue. It’s dispiriting to say the least. Let’s hope the House does better.