William Barr seems to have Special Counsel Robert Mueller's back — to an extent.
President Trump's pick for attorney general faced the Senate Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Democrats worried about the safety of Mueller's probe questioned Barr, and he responded with some reassurance — and some reason for Democratic concern.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
2. Not to impede related investigations: Barr's later assured that he "would not allow a U.S. attorney to be fired for the purpose of stopping an investigation," seeing as Trump is implicated in a Southern District of New York case.
3. To allow Mueller to finish the probe: In his opening statement, Barr shared how he's known "Bob" Mueller for years and said he'd let the special counsel "complete his work." He avoided saying whether he'd heard "nonpublic information" about the probe, but said he didn't "recall" hearing anything "confidential" about it from the White House.
4. To prevent 'edits' to Mueller's report: Barr said he would not allow "editing" of the confidential Mueller report. But he did not agree to Sen. Richard Blumenthal's (D-Conn.) request for Barr to "explain" any deletions or edits he makes to a public version of the report, or to follow through on any prosecutions Mueller may suggest in it.
-
10 concert tours to see this winterThe Week Recommends Keep cozy this winter with a series of concerts from big-name artists
-
What are portable mortgages and how do they work?the explainer Homeowners can transfer their old rates to a new property in the UK and Canada. The Trump administration is considering making it possible in the US.
-
What’s the best way to use your year-end bonus?the explainer Pay down debt, add it to an emergency fund or put it toward retirement
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
