NYC, Seattle, Portland Are ‘Permitting Anarchy’ Because They Snubbed Feds, Barr Whines

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 28: U.S. Attorney General William Barr testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Congressional Auditorium at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center July 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. In his ... WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 28: U.S. Attorney General William Barr testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Congressional Auditorium at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center July 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. In his first congressional testimony in more than a year, Barr faced questions from the committee about his deployment of federal law enforcement agents to Portland, Oregon, and other cities in response to Black Lives Matter protests; his role in using federal agents to violently clear protesters from Lafayette Square near the White House last month before a photo opportunity for President Donald Trump in front of a church; his intervention in court cases involving Trump's allies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn; and other issues. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

In the latest episode of President Donald Trump’s months-long effort to paint liberal cities as violent, lawless hellholes, Attorney General Bill Barr on Monday declared that New York City, Seattle and Portland were “permitting anarchy.”

The new label from Barr came three weeks after the President ordered the attorney general to identify local governments “that are permitting anarchy, violence and destruction in American cities.” Trump’s order itself also singled out New York, Portland and Seattle. 

In a statement, Barr made a vague threat about stripping federal funds from the cities as punishment, though it’s still not clear what form that would take. The U.S. Conference of Mayors said in a letter earlier this month that Trump’s order “has no legal standing” and that any move to defund cities would be challenged in court. 

“We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance,” Barr said, accusing local leadership of impeding law enforcement. 

“It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens,” he added.

In Trump’s Sept. 2 order to Barr, instructing him to identify cities that were “permitting anarchy,” the President said his administration would seek to strip funding from cities “that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones.”

Trump was more direct on Twitter, calling out “weak mayors” that “let anarchists harm people.”

But the administration’s criteria were scattershot and included “whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments” and whether a jurisdiction “unreasonably refuses to accept law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government” — as well as “any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate.”

For now, Barr said, New York, Seattle and Portland fit the bill. He ticked through each city’s sins. 

New York, the attorney general noted, “transfer[red] of certain police functions, including school safety, out of the NYPD.” And Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Barr whined, “have forcefully rejected federal law enforcement support.” 

In Portland, where this summer’s surge in federal forces came despite local opposition, Barr noted the city council’s June vote to slash $15 million from the police budget. (The current police budget is more than $240 million, and COVID-19 has gutted tax revenue.) 

Barr cited the short-lived “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” as partial grounds for condemning Seattle. And, of course, he noted that Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) “publicly rejected federal involvement in law enforcement activities within the city of Seattle.”

Correction: This article originally misstated Jay Inslee’s title. He is the governor of Washington, not Oregon. 

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Funny how just a few years ago resisting federal officers performing their mandated responsibilities on federal property was just fine and dandy with these folks.

    (Edit to add: I am in no way suggesting that protesters are equivalent to the sniper-douche in the picture, or to the anti-government clowns he associated with.)

  2. In Portland, where this summer’s surge in federal forces came despite local opposition, Barr noted the city council’s June vote to slash $15 million from the police budget. (The current police budget is more than $240 million, and COVID-19 has gutted tax revenue.)

    How dare Portland slash the police department’s budget while there are mass evictions to be performed, and properties to be grabbed, and don’t forget that the police are on the front lines in war against COVID-19. It Portland is allowed to do this then how many more will jump on their bandwagon?
    Oh the :scream::scream::scream:

  3. Barr made a vague threat about stripping federal funds from the cities as punishment

    Since when has disBarr been in charge of doling out federal funds?

  4. Avatar for theryl theryl says:

    Minor editing error: Inslee is the Governor of Washington, not Oregon.

  5. Avatar for tena tena says:

    Yeah well just wait. Y’all have pushed me to the point where I’m ready to join up and burn this country down.

    Has the fat motherfucker dropped dead? Where’s my torch?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

138 more replies

Participants

Avatar for sysprog Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for george_spiggott Avatar for tacoma Avatar for sparrowhawk Avatar for clearwater Avatar for left_in_washington_state Avatar for ronbyers Avatar for mrf Avatar for khaaannn Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for tena Avatar for castor_troy Avatar for erratum Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for katscherger Avatar for kelaine Avatar for euglena4056 Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for rucleare Avatar for LeeHarveyGriswold Avatar for Hektor6766 Avatar for josep

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: