when did barr become attorney general

by Kaitlyn Nitzsche Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 4 min read

When did Barr serve as attorney general?

William BarrOfficial portrait, 201977th and 85th United States Attorney GeneralIn office February 14, 2019 – December 23, 2020PresidentDonald Trump30 more rows

Who was attorney general under George W Bush?

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. He later founded the Ashcroft Group, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm.

Who was Obama's attorney general?

Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African American to hold the position of U.S. attorney general.

Where did Bill Barr go to law school?

The George Washington University Law School1977Columbia University1973Columbia University1971Horace Mann Bronx Campus Middle and Upper DivisionsWilliam Barr/Education

Who was the 1980s Attorney General?

A chronological list of past California attorneys general is below....California Former Attorneys General.Matthew Rodriguez2021 – 2021John K. Van de Kamp1983 – 1991George Deukemejian1979 – 1983Evelle J. Younger1971 – 1979Thomas C. Lynch1964 – 197129 more rows

Who served as U.S. Attorney General twice?

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.

Who is the current Attorney General?

Merrick GarlandUnited States / Attorney general

How old is Obama today?

60 years (August 4, 1961)Barack Obama / Age

Is Loretta Lynch married?

Stephen HargroveLoretta Lynch / Spouse (m. 2007)

What does the Barr stand for?

Bureau of Aeronautics Resident Representative.

How much does Barr make?

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

Who is Bill Barrs wife?

Christine BarrWilliam Barr / Wife (m. 1973)

What was Barr's first tenure?

During his first tenure as AG, media characterized Barr as "a staunch conservative who rarely hesitates to put his hardline views into action". He was described as affable with a dry, self-deprecating wit. The New York Times described the "central theme" of his tenure to be "his contention that violent crime can be reduced only by expanding Federal and state prisons to jail habitual violent offenders". In an effort to prioritize violent crime, Barr reassigned three hundred FBI agents from counterintelligence work to investigations of gang violence. The New York Times called this move "the largest single manpower shift in the bureau's history".

Who asked the Justice Department to investigate Barr?

In December 2019, Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Patrick J. Leahy asked the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate Barr for approving an illegal surveillance program without legal analysis.

How much money did Barr give to the NRSC?

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) financially assists Republicans in their Senate election contests; in the seven years from 2009 to 2016, Barr gave six donations to the NRSC totaling $85,400. In a five-month period from October 2018 to February 2019, Barr donated five times (around $10,000 every month) for a total of $51,000. When Barr started donating more frequently to the NRSC, it was uncertain whether then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions would remain in his job. Barr continued donating even after Sessions resigned, and after Trump nominated Barr for Attorney General. The donations stopped after Barr was confirmed by the Senate as Attorney General. NRSC refunded Barr $30,000 before his confirmation. Previously in 2017, Barr had said he felt "prosecutors who make political contributions are identifying fairly strongly with a political party."

Why did Barr say Hollywood censors its own movies?

In July 2020, Barr condemned large American tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Apple, and Hollywood studios, accusing them of "kowtowing" to the Chinese Communist Party for the sake of profits. He said that "Hollywood now regularly censors its own movies to appease the Chinese Communist Party, the world's most powerful violator of human rights."

How much did Barr donate to the Republican Party?

Barr donated $55,000 to a political action committee that backed Jeb Bush during the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries and $2,700 to Donald Trump during the general election campaign.

Why does Barr support the death penalty?

Barr supports the death penalty, arguing that it reduces crime. He advocated a Bush-backed bill that would have expanded the types of crime that could be punished by execution. In a 1991 op-ed in The New York Times, Barr argued that death row inmates' ability to challenge their sentences should be limited to avoid cases dragging on for years: "This lack of finality devastates the criminal justice system. It diminishes the deterrent effect of state criminal laws, saps state prosecutorial resources and continually reopens the wounds of victims and survivors."

Why did Barr advocate for Guantanamo Bay?

He also advocated the use of Guantanamo Bay to prevent Haitian refugees and HIV infected individuals from claiming asylum in the United States. According to Vox in December 2018, Barr supported an aggressive "law and order" agenda on immigration as Attorney General in the Bush Administration.

Who sworn in Barr?

Barr was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

Why did Blumenthal vote against Barr?

Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Thursday said he would vote against Barr's nomination because he has "not committed to making special counsel findings public and not committed to public testimony from Mueller."

Who was the FBI Deputy Director who was fired by the President?

Barr’s confirmation came the same day former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was fired by the president last year, detailed the central role he played in the bureau's Russia probe and the eventual appointment of a special counsel -- while describing Justice Department meetings where officials discussed ousting the president.

Did Sessions protect him from Russia?

Trump had complained that Sessions, throughout his tenure as attorney general, was weak, and did not protect him from the Russia investigation. Sessions recused himself early on in the investigation, prior to Mueller’s appointment, due to his involvement with the Trump campaign in 2016.

Did Barr discuss Mueller's investigation with Pence?

After his confirmation hearing last month, Barr disclosed that he had discussed Mueller’s investigation with Vice President Pence, but insisted that he neither provided legal advice to the White House nor received any confidential information from Pence. Barr also defended a memo he sent to the Justice Department last year that was critical of the Russia probe, explaining that it was narrow in scope and based on potentially incomplete information.

Who is Barr backed by?

Barr, who previously served as attorney general under the first President Bush, has embraced positions on immigration and crime that were also backed by Sessions, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. senator from Alabama. But the two men are not identical in their views, said John Malcolm, vice president of the Institute for Constitutional ...

Who was the attorney general under Bush?

William Barr, who served as attorney general under the first President Bush, was sworn in for a second tenure on Thursday. Andrew Harnik / AP file

What did Barr do to help Haitians?

He sent immigration officers to foreign airports to screen people before they boarded planes to America. And he blocked Haitians fleeing a 1991 coup, arranging for them to be detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and screened for HIV and AIDS before they could claim asylum at the U.S. border.

Will Barr go after marijuana companies?

While no such prosecutions have happened, they remain a possibility, so Barr's views will be key. In January, he told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he wouldn't go after marijuana companies in states that have legalized it.

Did Barr hold onto his views?

Even as those views grew less popular, Barr held onto them.

Does Barr support mandatory minimum sentences?

Barr has historically supported mandatory minimum sentences and other tough-on-crime policies. But he may soften.

Did Barr block Haitians?

And he blocked Haitians fle eing a 1991 coup, arranging for them to be detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and screened for HIV and AIDS before they could claim asylum at the U.S. border. More recently, while in private law practice, Barr has defended Trump's travel ban that primarily affected Muslim countries.

How long did Barr serve as Attorney General?

Barr served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993 during the George H. W. Bush administration. Trump called Barr a "terrific man" and said that he was "my first choice since day one.".

What did Barr do to the President?

Barr has also supported increasing the president's ability to act independently of Congress. In 1989 he wrote a memo detailing ways the executive branch should push back against what he viewed as “interference" with presidential authority by Congress.

Who will replace Matt Whitaker?

Barr will replace acting-Attorney General Matt Whitaker. Senate Democrats had objected to the appointment of Whitaker, who had formerly served as chief of staff for Sessions, and had filed a formal complaint against his appointment which they called “unlawful" since he did not receive a Senate confirmation.

What law firm does Barr work for?

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.

When did Barr retire?

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.

How much did Barr disclose about the merger?

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.

How much did Barr make in his career?

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.

Did Barr leave Verizon?

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.

Overview

William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump.
From 1971 to 1977, Barr was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency. He then served as a law clerk to judge Malcolm Richard Wilkey of the United States …

Early life and education

Barr was born in New York City in 1950. His father, Donald Barr, taught English literature at Columbia University before becoming headmaster of the Dalton School in Manhattan and later the Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, both members of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Barr's mother, Mary Margaret (née Ahern), also taught at Columbia. Barr's father was Jewish and raised in Judaism but later converted to Christianity and joined the Catholic Church. His mother is of Iri…

Career

Barr worked for the CIA from 1971 to 1977 while attending graduate school and law school. He was first hired as a summer intern for two years. During his law school years he was an analyst in the Intelligence Directorate division from 1973 to 1975, and then transitioning to an assistant in the Office of Legislative Counsel and an agency liaison to Congress from 1975 to 1977.

Political positions

A lifelong Republican, Barr takes an expansive view of executive powers and supports "law and order" policies. Considered an establishment Republican at the time of his confirmation, Barr gained a reputation as someone loyal to Trump and his policies during his second tenure as attorney general. His efforts to support the sitting president politically during his DOJ office tenure have be…

Personal life

Barr has been married to Christine Moynihan Barr since 1973. She holds a master's degree in library science, and together they have three daughters: Mary Barr Daly, Patricia Barr Straughn, and Margaret (Meg) Barr. Their eldest daughter, Mary, born 1977/1978, was a senior Justice Department official who oversaw the department's anti-opioid and addiction efforts; Patricia, born 1981/1982, was counsel for the House Agriculture Committee; and Meg, born 1984/1985, is a fo…

Honors

In 1992, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) by George Washington University.

Bibliography

• — (2022). One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-06-315860-3.