President Donald Trump on Friday tapped William Barr, a conservative lawyer who was attorney general in the administration of the late George H.W. Bush, to lead the US Department of Justice. Barr would succeed Jeff Sessions, who Trump sacked last month amid rising pressure on the White House from the Russia collusion investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
"Bill Barr will be nominated for the United States Attorney General position. I think he will serve with great distinction," Trump told reporters. "He was my first choice from day one. Respected by Republicans and respected by Democrats," he added, describing Barr as "a terrific man, a terrific person, a brilliant man." Barr had emerged in recent days as a consensus candidate for the highly sensitive post.
He does however have a record of endorsing strong executive powers, which could play into high-stakes legal battles on everything from immigration policy to war powers to whether the president can be required to give testimony in the Russia investigation.
He expressed support in May 2017 when Trump fired then-FBI director James Comey, which has led Mueller to investigate whether Trump obstructed justice, and last year backed Trump's calls to reopen investigations into his 2016 rival Hillary Clinton.
While Barr initially endorsed Mueller's naming as an independent prosecutor to lead the Russia investigation, he subsequently voiced concerns that the investigative team appeared too heavily Democratic, citing the fact a number of its members had donated to the party.
Trump's naming of Barr came after he unleashed a new series of attacks on the special counsel and his team, with the prosecutor expected to release documents that could shed new light in the Russia probe.
Comments
Comments are closed.