Attorney General nominee William Barr told senators today he would resist pressure to axe special counsel Robert Mueller, including from President Trump, unless there was good cause to do so.
Asked if he would fire the special counsel – or if he would change Justice Department regulations and then fire him if asked to do so by the president without ‘good cause,’ Barr responded: “I would not carry out that instruction.”
He was pressed by Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons and multiple other lawmakers on how he would handle Mueller, his longtime friend who Trump has accused of overseeing a ‘witch hunt’ against him.
“I don’t believe Mr. Mueller would be involved in a witch hunt,” Barr said under questioning.
He said he met with Trump in June 2017 when the president was seeking to expand his legal team, and asked him how well he knew Mueller.
“I said Bob is a straight shooter and should be dealt with as such,” Barr said he told the president.
The comments were among multiple markers of independence Barr put down during the hearing, where he also praised fired Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions’ decision to recuse from the Russia probe and praised deputy attorney gen. Rod Rosenstein, another favorite target of Trump’s.
But he refused to give Democrats commitments they sought repeatedly that he would yield to ethics professionals if they advised him to recuse himself from the Mueller probe.
“I’m not surrendering that responsibility. I’m not giving it away,” he said.
Barr told lawmakers he didn’t need the high-level job he has previously held, would not be ‘bullied’ by anyone, and stated explicitly several instances of interference in prosecution that would be improper or illegal.
Barr said the president would violate his oath of office if he ordered the Justice Department to take an action in which he had a ‘stake.’
“In my opinion, if a president attempts to intervene in a matter that he has a stake in to protect himself – that should first be looked at as a breach of his constitutional duties. Whether it also violates a statute depending on what statute comes into play and what all the facts are,” he said.
Such pronouncement would ordinarily be boilerplate, but takes on extra significance while a probe Trump has labeled a ‘witch hunt’ continues to examine Trump associates and family members who had contacts with Russians during the campaign.
Barr spoke as Senate Democrats pressed him on his views of the Mueller probe – including its investigation of any obstruction of justice by Trump, something Barr has criticized in writing.
Trump fired FBI Director James Comey early in his term, and according to Comey asked if he could relieve pressure on his former national security advisor Mike Flynn.
Barr also assured lawmakers that he has the independence needed to carry out the job.
Some questioners, including Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, brought up Trump’s constant attacks on former attorney general Jeff Sessions and others.
Barr said he was too old to succumb to pressure.
“It might give me pause if I were 45 or 50 y old but it doesn’t give me pause right now,” he said.