who hired attorney general william barr

by Dr. Thomas Muller I 5 min read

On December 7, 2018, President Donald Trump announced Barr's nomination to succeed Jeff Sessions. Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman reported that Trump had sought Barr as chief defense lawyer for Trump regarding the special counsel investigation headed by Robert Mueller after Barr made three positions known.

What has Attorney General William Barr done so far?

Those developments included Barr’s intervention in a case involving Trump’s friend Roger Stone, prompting the withdrawal of four career prosecutors; the resignation from government of a prominent former US attorney previously sidelined by Barr; and the issuance of a rare public warning by a federal judge about the independence of the courts.

Did Attorney General William Barr meet with Rupert Murdoch?

In October 2019, as Trump faced an impeachment inquiry about the Trump-Ukraine scandal, Barr met with Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch at his Manhattan home.

Was William Barr ever employed by CIA?

From 1973 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 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

What did William Barr do for Trump?

In summarizing his tenure, Katie Benner of The New York Times wrote that "Barr brought the Justice Department closer to the White House than any attorney general in a half-century ... Barr made decisions that dovetailed precisely with Mr. Trump’s wishes and the demands of his political allies."

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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.

Is Mueller's report confidential?

Barr has said that he will be as transparent as possible under Justice Department regulations, not ing that regulations call for the report to be confidential, requiring only that the report explains the decisions to pursue or to decline prosecutions, which could be as simple as a short list, or a report of hundreds of pages.

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.

When was Barr nominated for Attorney General?

Barr’s long career in public life led some justice department veterans to welcome his nomination as attorney general in late 2018, given concerns about who else Trump might pick.

Who is William Barr?

William Barr, 69 and a veteran of 40 years in Washington, was confirmed one year ago as attorney general, a position with broad influence over the administration of justice and broad sway over public faith placed in it.

What was the reaction to Barr's interview?

The interview was met with outrage and eye-rolls among critics who saw a wide divergence between what Barr said and everything else he has been doing.

Why did Barr travel to London?

In July, Barr traveled to London to ask intelligence officials there for help with the investigation. He made a similar trip to Italy in September. Recently, Barr announced the creation of an “intake process” for information gathered by Rudy Giuliani about investigations tied to Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.

What happened to Barr and Stone?

Those developments included Barr’s intervention in a case involving Trump’s friend Roger Stone, prompting the withdrawal of four career prosecutors; the resignation from government of a prominent former US attorney previously sidelined by Barr; and the issuance of a rare public warning by a federal judge about the independence of the courts.

Why is Barr afraid of vice?

The fear is that Barr’s competence has flipped from virtue to vice owing to a quality that he appears to lack or have lost: judgment in the face of an untethered president.

What was Barr's intervention in the Roger Stone case?

Barr’s intervention in the Roger Stone case was described as a ‘break-the-glass’ moment by one former US attorney. Photograph: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Why did Barr write an op-ed defending Trump's decision?

First, Barr wrote an op-ed defending Trump’s decision on the grounds that Comey’s “controversial actions” concerning Hillary Clinton’s email controversy gave “the impression that the FBI was enmeshed in politics” and that the president was right to “make a fresh start.”. Trump quickly obliterated this pretext when he admitted ...

What is Barr's summary?

For Trump’s defenders, Barr’s summary is a godsend, a vindication of the president’s assertion that he committed “no collusion.” For staunch supporters of the “ unitary executive ,” it is a satisfying affirmation of Trump’s sweeping powers to manipulate his subordinates to protect his own skin. For the rest of us, the summary is a riddle, opaque in its reasoning and premature in its conclusions. Barr has provided Trump with a partisan victory, ably discharging the duties he was likely chosen to perform. But he has also provided one more reason why the public must see the full Mueller report as soon as possible.

What did Barr say about Mueller?

That conclusion will come as a great relief to the president and his supporters, if Mueller’s report is as clear-cut as Barr indicates. But the attorney general’s summary includes a second finding that is confusing and equivocal. Mueller, Barr wrote, left “unresolved” the question of whether Trump obstructed justice. He instead laid out “evidence of both sides” and allowed Barr, along with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, to use those findings to determine whether the president committed obstruction. On the basis of this evidence and analysis—which we cannot yet evaluate—Barr and Rosenstein decided that Trump did not commit such an offense.

Did Barr see evidence of Trump's involvement in the Russia probe?

But Barr provided a clue to his reasoning, by suggesting that he did not see evidence Trump hampered the Russia probe with “corrupt intent.” As former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal has noted, it is hard to understand how Barr, or Mueller, or anyone, could gauge Trump’s intent, because the president has not been interviewed about his intentions. Why not? We know at least one person vigorously opposed to compelling Trump to submit to an interview: Bill Barr, whose 2018 memo declared that Mueller could not legally do so.

Who is the former director of public affairs and counselor to Barr?

In her new role, Kupec will participate in story selection under the oversight of Doug Rohrbeck, who has been promoted to senior vice president of D.C. news. Kupec is the former director of public affairs and counselor to Barr, serving as chief spokesperson at the Department of Justice (DOJ). She was also a member of former President Trump.

Who is Bill Sammon?

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