Attorney General Nominee William Barr Backs Mueller Probe In Defiance Of Trump

Barr

President Donald Trump may have been hoping that appointing William Barr as Attorney General would solve all of his problems with the Russia investigation headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but it looks like his problems are about to get a whole lot worse.

For nearly two years, Trump has been complaining about the Russia investigation and has done everything he can to undermine it, even whining about former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recusing himself instead of squashing it as if the Attorney General is supposed to act as the president’s legal protector.

Trump must have thought that very thing when he fired Sessions and replaced him with acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, who has thus far not sabotaged the various federal investigations into Trump and his business empire, something Trump yelled at Whitaker about last month.

Enter William Barr, a former Attorney General under George H. W. Bush who has repeatedly criticized the Mueller probe.

Barr’s criticism clearly impressed Trump enough that he nominated him as Attorney General in the hope that he would be the one who would finally rid Trump of his legal troubles.

But based on Barr’s written remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee released on Monday, it appears Trump’s effort to kill the investigation has been thwarted once again.

“I believe it is vitally important that the special counsel be allowed to complete his investigation,” Barr wrote in his prepared statement.

In fact, not only does Barr believe Mueller should be allowed to continue his work until it is completed, he believes the results of the probe should be released to the public, despite Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani wanting to read and “correct” the report first.

“I also believe it is very important that the public and Congress be informed of the results of the Special Counsel’s work,” Barr wrote. “For that reason, my goal will be to provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law. I can assure you that, where judgments are to be made by me, I will make those judgments based solely on the law and will let no personal, political or other improper interests influence my decisions.”

That’s probably not making Trump very happy right now. After all, he wanted an Attorney General who would crush the investigation and bury whatever evidence Mueller has already found. He also wanted the ability to block portions of the final report from being released.

But, like on his wall, Trump is not going to get what he wants, so it’s only a matter of time before Trump starts attacking Barr on Twitter as he has everyone else who refuses to shield him from the rule of law.

 

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