what about barr for attorney general is causing controversy

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Is William Barr conservative or liberal?

William BarrBornWilliam Pelham Barr May 23, 1950 New York City, U.S.Political partyRepublicanSpouseChristine Moynihan ​ ( m. 1973)​Children330 more rows

What does William Barr Do?

LawyerWilliam Barr / ProfessionA lawyer or attorney is a person who practices law, as an advocate, attorney at law, barrister, barrister-at-law, bar-at-law, canonist, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ... Wikipedia

How much does the Attorney General of the United States make?

Attorney General is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$221,400, as of January 2021.

Does William Barr children?

Mary DalyWilliam Barr / Children

Who is the president's lawyer?

White House CounselIncumbent Stuart Delery since July 2022Formation1943First holderSamuel Rosenman

Who did Trump pardon?

Trump issued pardons to seven Republican congressmen convicted of crimes: Chris Collins, Duncan D. Hunter, Steve Stockman, Rick Renzi, Robin Hayes, Mark Siljander, and Randall "Duke" Cunningham.

Who appointed Attorney General Garland?

Merrick GarlandIn office March 20, 1997 – March 11, 2021Appointed byBill ClintonPreceded byAbner J. MikvaSucceeded byKetanji Brown Jackson22 more rows

Who was Trump's first attorney general?

Jeff SessionsSucceeded byDon FosterPersonal detailsBornJefferson Beauregard Sessions III December 24, 1946 Selma, Alabama, U.S.Political partyRepublican33 more rows

What did Democrats accuse Barr of?

Democrats have accused Barr of using the power of the Justice Department -- what is supposed to be the nation's highest, independent, law-enforcement body -- to help President Trump politically. What you might not know: Barr is a musician.

What did Barr say at his confirmation hearing?

At Barr's confirmation hearing last year, he expressed support for the border wall and a federal law banning anti-LGBT discrimination, argued against sanctuary cities and immigrants "abusing the asylum system," and echoed Trump's mistrust of the press. Despite the rhetoric in his earlier memo, Barr also argued that Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election must proceed.

What did Barr say about the Russia probe?

Barr has shown more disdain for the Russia probe -- and other investigations into the President -- as time has passed. In December 2019, for example, Barr described the Russia investigation as a "travesty," and lambasted former FBI officials involved in opening it, claiming "the greatest danger to our free system" is that the Obama administration "spied" on the Trump campaign in a way that he said sought to influence the 2016 election. ABC News did not find evidence to substantiate those claims.

What did Barr say about Mueller?

Two days after Barr received Mueller's report, Barr sent a four-page summary to Congress, saying: "The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.".

What did Barr write about the prisons?

In 1992, Barr wrote a report, "The Case for More Incarceration" in which he argued for an increase in the U.S. incarceration rate and number of prisons and for the end of parole release. Also while serving as attorney general under Bush, Barr also led the Department’s response to the Savings & Loan crisis, oversaw the investigation of the Pan Am 103 bombing, and coordinated counter-terrorism activities during the First Gulf War, according to his official biography.

Why did Trump congratulate Barr?

This week, Trump congratulated Barr for "taking charge" in the case of the president's longtime friend and former campaign adviser Roger Stone after the Justice Department leadership overruled the sentencing recommendation made by career prosecutors, proposing more lenient prison time . Democrats accused Trump of blatant political interference to help his friend and Barr of abusing his power to help Trump politically. In an unprecedented turn of events, the entire team of four federal prosecutors involved in Stone's case withdrew, apparently in protest.

How long did Barr work for Verizon?

Upon leaving the Bush administration, Barr took a 15-year break from federal service. For 14 years he worked for the telecommunications company GTE Corporation and helped lead its merger with Bell Atlantic to become Verizon Communications. He retired from Verizon in 2008 as a multi-millionaire.

Why did Barr decline to work for Trump?

Barr once said that when Trump first approached him about a job in June 2017— at that time, it was about joining the President’s personal legal team—he declined, because he was happy with the work-life balance he had finally achieved in his sixties and “didn’t want to stick my head into that meat grinder.”.

What did Barr say in his farewell letter?

In his farewell letter that Trump posted to Twitter, Barr defended the President, writing of the “partisan onslaught against you in which no tactic, no matter how abusive and deceitful, was out of bounds.”

Did Michael Flynn get pardoned?

Months later, the Justice Department dropped its criminal case against Trump’s first National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. ( Trump then pardoned Flynn.) But the relationship between Trump and his Attorney General hit more bumps as 2020 wore on.

Did Barr publicize Mueller's report?

Barr publicized his summary of Mueller’s report before releasing the report itself, which had the effect of oversimplifying Mueller’s findings, at least in the minds of Mueller and his deputies.

Does Barr wear a mask?

Attorney General William Barr wears a protective mask while arriving at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. Credit - Stefani Reynolds–Bloomberg/Getty Images. Attorney General William Barr’s time leading the U.S. Justice Department ended much as it played out during his nearly two years there: with a combination ...

Did Barr reveal the truth about Hunter Biden?

After the Wall Street Journal reported that Barr had known about the investigation for months and worked to keep it under wraps during the election year, Trump tweeted Barr was “a big disappointment” and questioned: “Why didn’t Bill Barr reveal the truth to the public, before the Election, about Hunter Biden.”.

Who is the NPR reporter for Barr?

NPR justice reporter Ryan Lucas is in the studio now with me to talk about Barr and to talk about how an establishment figure who first served as attorney general in the George H.W. Bush administration became the go-to guy for this very anti-establishment president. Ryan Lucas, welcome. RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: Thank you.

Who was the first attorney general for President Bush?

Barr, as we mentioned - he first served as attorney general back in the early '90s for the first President Bush. Remind us how he got there. LUCAS: So Barr 's a - he's a New York City kid. He grew up in the city, went to Columbia, got a master's in Chinese studies.

How long did Lucas become Attorney General?

LUCAS: He became attorney general from 1991 to 1993. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) BARR: Nothing could be more destructive of our system of government, of the rule of law than any toleration of political interference with the enforcement of the law.

Did Mueller draw a conclusion on obstruction of justice?

LUCAS: Mueller did not draw a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice, but Barr himself did. And he said there was nothing wrong there. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: However, Attorney General William Barr, who was appointed by the president, said there was no evidence of obstruction in the report.

Did Barr talk to Giuliani?

What the Justice Department has said on the record is that Barr has not engaged in any aspect of talking to Ukraine, talking to Giuliani, talking to the president about investigating the Bidens at all. They're saying that Barr didn't even know of the phone call until several weeks after it happened.

Topline

The chairman of the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol said Sunday that the panel has spoken with former Attorney General William Barr, a hard-core President Trump loyalist who became an adversary after refusing to support Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud.

Key Facts

Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said that the panel has “had conversations” with Barr but would not confirm whether Barr would testify to the panel as part of its investigation into the events of January 6, 2021 during a Sunday morning appearance on CBS’ Face The Nation.

Key Background

Barr, who earlier served as attorney general in George H.W. Bush’s Administration, attracted a great deal of controversy in his second stint as attorney general for his unprecedented loyalty to Trump, making his turn against the former president all the more surprising.

Crucial Quote

Barr candidly explained his rationale for not supporting Trump’s claims of fraud in an interview published in The Atlantic in June 2021: “But my suspicion all the way along was that there was nothing there. It was all bullsh-t.”

Chief Critic

Trump predictably snapped at Barr after his interview with The Atlantic, saying in a statement at the time: "Bill Barr was a disappointment in every sense of the word…. Instead of doing his job, he did the opposite and told people within the Justice Department not to investigate the election.”

Further Reading

Barr Defies Trump, Says No Evidence Of Voter Fraud That Could Change Election Result ( Forbes)

What did Barr do to boost Trump?

Most notably, he ordered the top federal prosecutor in Pittsburgh to investigate the conspiracy theories about Joe and Hunter Biden brought to the FBI by Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor turned Trump personal attorney. While in marked contrast to the disastrous decision by then-FBI Director James Comey (who was fired by Trump in 2017) to ignore departmental norms and inform Congress about the briefly reopened investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server in 2016, Barr did not make these investigations public during the campaign. But giving a personal Trump employee special access to the FBI is a highly corrupt act, and “handled FBI investigations of a presidential candidate better than James Comey” is the lowest bar imaginable.

What is Barr's original sin?

Barr's resignation letter, in fact, reminds us of his original sin: covering up the Trump campaign’s cooperation (if not collusion) with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, which Barr referred to as “the effort to cripple, if not oust your administration with frenzied and baseless accusations” in his letter.

Why was Alfred Bourgeois executed?

In the other case, Alfred Bourgeois was executed although he had a strong claim for being mentally handicapped, which would make his execution illegal both under federal statute and controlling Supreme Court precedent. But Barr was determined to make sure all of these prisoners died on his watch.

Was Barr a bad attorney general?

Bill Barr was a historically bad attorney general. His resignation shouldn't rehabilitate him. Bill Barr was a historically bad attorney general. His resignation shouldn't rehabilitate him. Trump wanted an attorney general who would act like his personal attorney rather than serve the interests of the American people. In Barr, he got that.

Did Barr make the Clinton emails public?

While in marked contrast to the disastrous decision by then-FBI Director James Comey (who was fired by Trump in 2017) to ignore departmental norms and inform Congress about the briefly reopened investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server in 2016, Barr did not make these investigations public during the campaign.

Did Brandon Bernard get executed?

And what’s worse, both of the most recent executions are legally shaky. As observed in the dissenting opinions of the indefatigable Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Brandon Bernard was executed despite the fact that the prosecution made patently false claims about his involvement in a gang, and those claims were critical to his capital sentence for a murder that he did not personally commit. In the other case, Alfred Bourgeois was executed although he had a strong claim for being mentally handicapped, which would make his execution illegal both under federal statute and controlling Supreme Court precedent. But Barr was determined to make sure all of these prisoners died on his watch.

Did Barr order executions?

And it’s also worth noting that Barr has ordered and will oversee an unprecedented number of executions on his way out the door — deaths the president has reportedly told confidants that he is “excited” about and hopes to have as many of as possible.