Bill Barr tells Fox News if 'even half' Trump indictment is true, 'he's toast.' Trump calls Barr a 'gutless pig.'
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to turn himself in for arraignment in Miami on Tuesday and expected to plead not guilty to the 37 felony counts detailed in a Justice Department indictment unsealed Friday. Trump spent the weekend proclaiming his innocence and attacking the investigation, but most legal experts — including some who previously defended Trump — say this indictment is serious, substantial and a real threat to the former president.
It's important to hear Trump's legal defense, but "if even half" of the indictment's charges are "true, then he's toast," former Attorney General William Barr told Fox News Sunday. "It's a very detailed indictment and it's very, very damning. And this idea of presenting Trump as a victim here, a victim of a 'witch hunt,' is ridiculous."
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) echoed Barr's assessment on CBS's Face the Nation, saying "if even half of this stuff is true, he's in real trouble, and it is self-inflicted." Sununu is a Trump critic, but Barr was picked to be Trump's final attorney general in large part because he wrote a letter criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller's earlier investigation of Trump and his campaign's ties to Russia.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump has been a victim of "phony claims" before, "and I've been at his side defending against them when he is a victim, but this is much different," Barr said on Sunday. "He's not a victim here. He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets that the country has," and Trump "kept them in a way at Mar-a-Lago that anyone who really cares about national security, their stomach would churn at it."
"Battle plans for an attack on another country or Defense Department documents about our capabilities are in no universe Donald J. Trump's personal documents," Barr said.
"I'm guessing that you're not going to join his legal team," host Shannon Bream deadpanned, and she asked Barr how he thought Trump would respond to his legal analysis. "Well, he's been angry with me for a while," Barr said. "I defend the president on 'Russiagate,' I stood up and called out Alvin Bragg's politicized hit job," but "this particular episode" is different.
Trump did respond on his Truth Social account, and he still appears to be angry with Barr. "Virtually everyone is saying that the Indictment is about Election Interference & should not have been brought," Trump claimed, falsely, "except Bill Barr, a 'disgruntled former employee' & lazy Attorney General who was weak & totally ineffective. ... He knows the Indictment is Bull…. Turn off FoxNews when that 'Gutless Pig' is on!"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Ukraine's Olympians: going for gold in the line of fire
Under the Radar Hundreds of the country's athletes have died in battle, while those who remain deal with the psychological toll of war and prospect of Russian competitors
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Democrats now have a chance to present a vigorous, compelling case'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
The GOP is Donald Trump Jr.'s party now
In The Spotlight The former president's gun-loving, live-streaming adult son has emerged as more than just his father's namesake — he's become a Republican powerhouse of his own
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
For God and country: is religion in politics making a comeback?
Talking Point There are many MPs of faith in the new Labour government despite it being the most openly secular House of Commons in history
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The attack on Donald Trump
Opinion We've seen this kind of shooter before
By Susan Caskie Published
-
74 things Donald Trump has said about women
Feature The former president has a long history of controversial remarks about the opposite sex
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
DHS opens review of Trump assassination attempt
Speed Read An independent panel will investigate the Secret Service's handling of the shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Can Kamala Harris beat Trump?
Today's Big Question Some senior Democrats are unsure the vice-president can win in November even as party closes ranks behind her
By The Week UK Published
-
Iran: does Masoud Pezeshkian's election mark a turning point?
Talking Point New president is seen as a progressive but much will depend on how the US reacts
By The Week UK Published
-
'Although we can't eliminate political violence, we can minimize it'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published