Barr was approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee, was confirmed by voice vote by the full Senate, and was sworn in as Attorney General on November 26, 1991. During his first tenure as AG, media characterized Barr as "a staunch conservative who rarely hesitates to put his hardline views into action".
Barr, 68, served for two years as the attorney general under George H. W. Bush before Bush lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton. He previously served as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel where he was considered a strong defender of presidential power.
... (Show more) William Barr, in full William Pelham Barr, (born May 23, 1950, New York City), American lawyer and government official who served as attorney general of the United States during the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush (1991–93) and Donald Trump (2019–20).
In July 2019 the House voted to hold Barr in criminal contempt for refusing to provide documents related to the Trump administration’s unsuccessful efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Barr was confirmed as attorney general on February 14, 2019, by a 54–45 near party-line vote, with Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) as the three Democrats to vote Yea.
72 years (May 23, 1950)William Barr / Age
Matthew WhitakerPreceded byJeff SessionsSucceeded byWilliam BarrChief of Staff to the United States Attorney GeneralIn office September 22, 2017 – November 7, 201822 more rows
John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush Administration, Senator from Missouri, and Governor of Missouri.
2019-2023Contract:5 yr(s) / $67,500,000Signing Bonus$13,000,000Average Salary$13,500,000Total Guarantees$33,000,000Guaranteed at Signing$15,900,0001 more row
Acronym. Definition. BARR. Block Aircraft Registration Request (National Business Aviation Association)
In May 2019 he moved to the Department of Justice as deputy attorney general, and from December 24, 2020, to January 20, 2021, as acting attorney general. As of July 2021 he is a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
California Former Attorneys GeneralMatthew Rodriguez2021 – 2021Kamala D. Harris2010 – 2017Edmund G. Brown, Jr.2007 – 2011Bill Lockyer1999 – 2007Daniel E. Lungren1991 – 199929 more rows
Rod Jay Rosenstein (/ˈroʊzənˌstaɪn/; born January 13, 1965) is an American attorney who served as the 37th United States deputy attorney general from April 2017 until May 2019.
James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, statesman, and political figure. He served as White House Chief of Staff and United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Ronald Reagan, and as U.S. Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush.
The chief advisors of the president were Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and Vice President Dick Cheney.
William Pelham BarrWilliam Pelham Barr was sworn in as the 85th Attorney General of the United States on February 14, 2019. He is only the second person in history to serve as U.S. Attorney General twice. Barr previously served as Attorney General from 1991 to 1993 during the administration of George H. W.
Barr, who had served (1991–93) as attorney general in the George H.W. Bush administration, was known for his extreme view of executive power—one that entailed, among other things, that presidents cannot commit obstruction of justice through the exercise of…. Robert Mueller: Later work and Russia investigation.
William Barr, in full William Pelham Barr, (born May 23, 1950, New York City), American lawyer and government official who served as attorney general of the United States during the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush (1991–93) and Donald Trump (2019–20). Barr was the second person in U.S.
Barr argued that the firing of Comey was a “facially-lawful” exercise of “ Executive discretion” and that obstruction would not apply unless Trump had already been found guilty of an underlying crime. Such arguments were advanced by many Trump supporters as well as by advocates of increased presidential authority.
In June 2018 Barr, a private citizen with no formal ties to the U.S. government, sent an unsolicited 19-page memo to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. In it Barr disparaged Robert Mueller ’s investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He was particularly focused on the possibility of Mueller pursuing an obstruction of justice case against Pres. Donald Trump over Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey. Barr argued that the firing of Comey was a “facially-lawful” exercise of “ Executive discretion” and that obstruction would not apply unless Trump had already been found guilty of an underlying crime. Such arguments were advanced by many Trump supporters as well as by advocates of increased presidential authority.
In addition, the Justice Department refused to comply with a subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report, an official stating that the Judiciary Committee’s request did not constitute “legitimate oversight.” In July 2019 the House voted to hold Barr in criminal contempt for refusing to provide documents related to the Trump administration’s unsuccessful efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. As Barr was head of the Justice Department, the legal body that would be tasked with prosecuting such an offense, the move was almost entirely symbolic.
Throughout his term as attorney general Barr would use his position to insulate the White House and Trump’s allies from congressional oversight and federal prosecution. Most notably, the Justice Department directly intervened in the cases of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and Trump adviser Roger Stone. Flynn, who had twice pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators, saw the charges against him dismissed, only to have that dismissal reversed by a U.S. appellate court. In the Stone case, the Justice Department’s own sentencing recommendation was countermanded by a Barr-appointed official after Trump tweeted that he felt that it was too harsh. In both cases, the federal attorneys overseeing the prosecutions resigned in protest. Trump eventually pardoned Flynn and commuted Stone’s sentence.
During the confirmation process, congressional Democrats raised concerns about Barr’s memo to Rosenstein. Barr, as attorney general, would have oversight of an investigation whose direction he had characterized as “fatally misconceived.”. Barr’s longtime association with Time Warner was also scrutinized.
Barr, 68, served at the head of the Department of Justice from 1991 to 1993. The Washington Post reports that he is the leading candidate to be Trump’s next pick for attorney general.
In 1991, The Washington Post described Barr as having “tempered candor with discretion, a strong will with a tolerance for the personalities and views of others.”
Barr also criticized special counsel Bob Mueller’s team in 2017 for making political donations.
In his early years, Barr worked for nine years at the Washington DC law firm Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge.
A source told the outlet that Barr is “a really serious contender and possibly the front-runner.”
Barr has been described as a staunch conservative.
Who is Attorney General William Barr? George H.W. Bush was elected president in 1988, and his son George W. Bush was elected in 2000. Now, the son of the 41st president and the ...
Barr went on to help the 1988 Bush campaign with its vice presidential selection process, and was later appointed to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, a decision made in part because of his support for presidential power, Barr has said.
H. W. Bush made it clear that he wanted the power of the line-item veto to strike down elements of left-leaning spending bills. In public addresses, Bush asked the American people “to demand” that he gain the tool through legislation or a constitutional amendment.
Bush and the political family that produced two Presidents, watch CNN’s Original Series “The Bush Years,” Sundays at 10pm ET on CNN .
This year, in the run-up to his second term as attorney general, now under a President less genteel than Bush, Barr offered Congress a more fulsome defense of the Mueller investigation.
In a statement to CNN, Barr called Bush “a great man by every measure and a gentleman of the old school – kind, considerate, decent.”. “He was a true statesman who guided the country through consequential times.
In written responses submitted to senators during his confirmation process, Barr said he didn’t have the necessary awareness of the facts and circumstances surrounding the emergency declaration, which had been threatened at the time, to offer his opinion on it, but he promised to “ensure that the Department’s advice on this subject is consistent with any applicable law.”
At the Justice Department, Barr’s work ranged from combatting violent crime to investigating the Pan Am 103 bombing. He also coordinated counter-terror activities during the first Gulf War and spearheaded the response to the S&L crisis, according to his biography.
But Barr told senators at his confirmation hearing that "it is vitally important" for Mueller's investigation to be completed, according to a transcript of his prepared remarks.
William Barr worked for the CIA while going to law school at night. (Kirkland & Ellis)
His answer reportedly surprised then-Sen. Joe Biden, who said Barr should be “complimented” for his “candid answer,” even though the eventual U.S. vice president did not agree.
During the confirmation hearings when he was first appointed attorney general, Barr said he did not agree with the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision and viewed abortion as an issue best left to the states, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.
Barr would say in 2001 that he “felt [some] had been unjustly treated and [wondered] whether [others] felt that they would have been treated this way under standard Department guidelines.”
The other officials he pardoned included: Elliott Abrams, Robert McFarlane, Clair George, Alan Fiers, and Duane Clarridge. Barr would say in 2001 that he “felt [some] had been unjustly treated and [wondered] whether [others] felt that they would have been treated this way under standard Department guidelines.”.
In 1992, Bush pardoned former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger for the various crimes he was alleged to have committed during the Iran-Contra affair–just before Weinberger was slated to go on trial for perjury and obstruction of justice.
This office was informed only within the past two weeks, on December 11, 1992 , that President Bush had failed to produce to investigators his own highly relevant contemporaneous notes, despite repeated requests for such documents.
Although it is the President’s prerogative to grant pardon, it is every American’s right that the criminal justice system be administered fairly, regardless of a person’s rank and connections.
We otherwise know that Barr warmed to the idea of investigating Hillary Clinton and supported Trump’s decision to fire James Comey. Barr’s past complaints about restrictions on the president’s authority have also garnered attention.
In 2017, Barr signed on to work with the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which has an unusual connection to the Trump administration. The firm pays an estimated $8.4 million in annual rent to lease part of a San Francisco skyscraper in which President Trump owns a 30% stake.
The biggest benefit, however, came upon retirement. Barr stepped down from the company at the end of 2008, receiving a $17.1 million distribution from Verizon’s income deferral plan, according to an SEC filing. On top of that, company documents also detail an additional $10.4 million separation payment for Barr.
That deal was lucrative for Barr—he disclosed $1.7 million of income related to it on his financial disclosure report. But the merger was troubling to Trump, whose Justice Department tried to block it. During his confirmation hearing, Barr promised to recuse himself from the case as attorney general.
W. Bush and Donald J. Trump. But he made his fortune out of office, collecting more than $50 million in compensation as an executive and director for some of America’s largest companies.
Retiring did not mean Barr was done working. The year after he left Verizon, he joined the boards of two publicly traded companies, Dominion Resources and Time Warner. From 2009 to 2018, Dominion paid Barr $1.2 million in cash and granted him another $1.1 million in stock awards, according to SEC filings.