BuzzFeed's bombshell Trump report gives new weight to William Barr's confirmation testimony
A line of questioning from William Barr's confirmation hearing has taken on far greater significance after a new report about President Trump.
Trump's nominee for attorney general made clear multiple times during his hearing earlier this week that if a president commits the behavior Trump has since been accused of committing, this would be obstruction of justice. He said as much when Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked him, "A president persuading a person to commit perjury would be obstruction, is that right?" Barr responded simply, "Yes," The Washington Post reports.
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.
This is precisely what a new report from BuzzFeed alleges: that Trump personally directed his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, to commit perjury by falsely telling Congress a business deal with Russia ended long before it actually did. Cohen in November pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, and BuzzFeed quotes two federal law enforcement officials as saying Cohen has informed Special Counsel Robert Mueller that Trump directed him to make these false statements. Mueller reportedly already knew this through separate interviews with multiple witnesses.
Trump has not yet personally responded to the report, but his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, released a statement dismissing Cohen's credibility. Brendan Morrow
-
‘My donation felt like a rejection of the day’s politics’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump wants a weaker dollar but economists aren’t so sureTalking Points A weaker dollar can make imports more expensive but also boost gold
-
Political cartoons for February 3Cartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include empty seats, the worst of the worst of bunnies, and more
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
