Attorney General William Barr is defending his actions related to the release of the Mueller report, saying that he felt that the rules were being changed to hurt President Trump. Barr said that his handling of the report and its aftermath is rooted in a desire to defend the power of the executive branch rather than personal support for President Trump.
“I felt the rules were being changed to hurt Trump, and I thought it was damaging for the presidency over the long haul,” Barr told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Monday. He made the statement in El Salvador, where he traveled last week to boost support for Trump’s policies toward the violent street gang MS-13.
“At every grave juncture the presidency has done what it is supposed to do, which is to provide leadership and direction,” Barr added. “If you destroy the presidency and make it an errand boy for Congress, we’re going to be a much weaker and more divided nation.”
Despite Barr’s Claims, Dems Accuse Him of Stonewalling
Despite Barr’s claims in defense of his actions, Democrats have accused Barr and Trump of trying to stonewall and obstruct Congress’ oversight duties; a charge that was repeated Monday after Trump directed former White House Counsel Don McGahn to defy a congressional subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. That committee voted earlier this month to hold Barr in contempt after he defied a subpoena for an unredacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russian activities during the 2016 presidential campaign.
In an interview with Fox News’ Bill Hemmer last week, Barr described that vote as “part of the usual political circus that’s being played out. It doesn’t surprise me.”
Barr has taken the criticism of him in stride, going so far as to approach House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at a Capitol Hill event last week and ask her if she had brought her handcuffs.
Barr Launch’s Investigation
Barr has also launched an investigation into the origins of the Mueller probe, telling Fox News that he ordered the investigation because many of the answers he had gotten were “inadequate.”
“People have to find out what the government was doing during that period,” he told “America’s Newsroom” host Bill Hemmer. “If we’re worried about foreign influence, for the very same reason we should be worried about whether government officials abused their power and put their thumb on the scale. I’m not saying that happened but its something we have to look at.”
