Tag: William Barr

Demands grow for a public Mueller report

Demands are growing for special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report to be made public, with lawmakers and legal experts raising concerns about how and when that could happen.

On Sunday, Democrats including one 2020 presidential candidate framed the conclusion of Mueller’s nearly two-year investigation as a crucial moment for transparency. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee pledged to subpoena the report on Russia’s election interference if necessary in order to make it public, while at least one legal expert suggested the path to making the report available to the public might be “circuitous.”

“This is an extraordinary moment in terms of the need that the special counsel has to investigate the conduct of the president of the United States’s campaign and issues surrounding it,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said on CNN’s “Inside Politics.”

View the complete February 24 article by Brett Samuels on The Hill website here.

Rosenstein plans to leave Justice Department next month

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein plans to leave the Justice Department in mid-March, an official familiar with the matter said Monday night, and an announcement on his successor is expected imminently.

Rosenstein, the No. 2 Justice Department official who has spent nearly two years in the hot seat since appointing Robert S. Mueller III to lead an investigation into whether President Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, had made it known in recent weeks that he planned to leave if and when a new attorney general was confirmed by the Senate.

With William P. Barr’s swearing in to that post last week, Rosenstein has set a more precise timeline for departure — though the official stressed his plan could shift if needed to ensure a smooth transition.

View the February 18 article by Matt Zapotosky on The Washington Post website here.

Five things to watch as Barr takes the reins of Justice, Mueller probe

William Barr was sworn in as President Trump’s second attorney general on Thursday, putting a new face atop the Justice Department who will assume oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

The Senate confirmed Barr in a largely party-line vote amid intense speculation that Mueller’s probe into links between the Trump campaign and Russia is wrapping up.

The investigation — and Barr’s oversight of it — is likely to dominate his first weeks and possibly months as attorney general, depending on when Mueller submits his final report.

View the complete February 18 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Hannity Urging New Attorney General To Investigate Trump’s Enemies

Sean Hannity, the Fox News host with the ear of President Donald Trump, has a message for newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr: Investigate the president’s political enemies — from former leaders of the Justice Department and FBI to Obama administration appointees to former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton — or suffer the consequences.

Fox’s leading propagandists spent much of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ tenure denouncing him over his refusal to turn their conspiracy theories into federal investigations. Hannity apparently has reason to believe that Barr, who has spoken favorably about the notion of appointing a special counsel to look into the Uranium One pseudo-scandal about Clinton, will be more pliable.

On Thursday night, just hours after the Senate confirmed Barr, Hannity crowed, “My sources telling me tonight things are happening as we speak.” The Fox host went on to detail numerous purported crimes he said had been committed by 10 “deep state actors,” including former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

View the complete February 17 article by Matt Gertz on the National Memo website here.

Senate confirms Trump pick William Barr as new attorney general

The Senate voted Thursday to approve William Barr as attorney general, giving the Justice Department its first confirmed chief since President Trump ousted Jeff Sessions last fall.

Senators voted 54-45 for Barr’s nomination, capping off a relatively low-drama fight over Trump’s second pick for the post. Barr was largely on a glide path after he cleared the Judiciary Committee and a procedural vote without any missteps that threatened GOP support for his nomination.

Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) was the only Republican who voted against Barr on Thursday, while Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Doug Jones (Ala.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) broke with their party and supported him.

View the complete February 14 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

Senate panel approves Barr nomination

© Stefani Reynolds

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved William Barr’s attorney general nomination on Thursday, voting along party lines to send Barr’s nomination to the full Senate.

The 12-10 vote sets up a floor fight over Barr’s confirmation for later this month. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority and Democrats cannot block the nomination on their own, so there is little doubt right now about Barr’s confirmation.

Barr, who previously served as attorney general during the George H.W. Bush administration, was expected to easily clear the Judiciary Committee, where Republicans have a majority. 

View the complete February 7 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

Barr Thinks DOJ Practice Allows Him to Bury Mueller’s Report: He’s Wrong.

William Barr filed his written answers to senators’ questions this week shortly before the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed until February 7 the vote on his confirmation as attorney general. The answers did nothing to soften his harsh views on criminal justice, civil rights, and reproductive choice. Nor do they allay concerns about his handling of the Mueller investigation. Rather, his answers suggest that we will never know whether career ethics officials advise him to recuse himself from the Mueller investigation. Further, while promising transparency, Barr’s answers clear a path for burying Mueller’s final product.

At his hearing, Barr stated that he would consult career ethics officials regarding recusal from oversight of the Mueller investigation, but refused to commit to following their advice, as previous nominees, including Jeff Sessions, had done. He insisted that he would make his own determination, regardless what ethics officials said. In his written answers, he refused to budge and added that he would not commit to making officials’ advice public. The public, therefore, likely will never know whether ethics officials told him to recuse himself, though the public likely will hear if officials do not urge recusal. In any event, Barr appears firmly committed to supervising Mueller.

Regarding release of any Mueller report, Barr repeated his statement that his “goal will be to provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law, including the regulations discussed above, and the Department’s longstanding practices and policies.” In context, this reasonable-sounding language provides the rationale for a spare notification to Congress that the special counsel investigation is complete and little more.

View the complete January 31 article by Bill Yeoman on the Alliance for Justice website here.

 

Senate panel postpones William Barr’s confirmation vote amid Democrats’ concerns

Credit: Time Warner via Associated Press

A planned Senate Judiciary Committee vote on William P. Barr’s nomination to serve as attorney general has been delayed, as Democrats continue to raise concerns about whether he would allow special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to finish his probe and publicize the results unimpeded.

The delay, which is customary for high-profile nominations, is not expected to impede Barr’s chances of being confirmed by the full Senate. But it is the latest reflection of the deep partisan tension surrounding Barr’s nomination, most of which centers on Democrats’ desire to protect Mueller’s probe from being unduly constrained.

The committee was scheduled to vote on 46 nominations on Tuesday, including Barr’s, but decided to delay until Feb. 7.

View the complete January 29 article by Karoun Demirjian on The Washington Post website here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Barr Refuses To Commit To Recusing Himself

At today’s confirmation hearing, Trump’s attorney general nominee, William Barr, refused to commit to recusing himself from an investigation, would not give straight answers to important questions about Mueller’s investigation, and raised even more questions about how he would use his powers as attorney general. Here are the key takeaways:

Barr repeatedly refused to commit to recuse himself from an investigation, even if recommended by ethics officials.

    Barr: “At the end of the day I would make a decision.”

    Barr: “I am not going to surrender the responsibilities of the attorney general.” Continue reading “KEY TAKEAWAYS: Barr Refuses To Commit To Recusing Himself”

Sen. Klobuchar says William Barr refused to meet with her ‘because of the shutdown’

GOP senators shared images with William Barr on social media.

William Barr, President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general who has a history of echoing Trump’s rhetoric, is scheduled for a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Cabinet nominees typically meet with senators from both parties who will be part of their confirmation process.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will oversee Barr’s attempt to become attorney general for the second time, said on Wednesday that Democrats are being prevented from meeting with the nominee in advance of his confirmation hearing.

View the complete January 10 article by Frank Dale on the ThinkProgress website here.