As the saying goes, "it's not a party until the bagpipes come out."
Attorney General William Barr got the party started on Wednesday morning, opening the U.S. Attorneys National Conference in Washington, D.C. with an inspiring bagpipe performance.
Barr dramatically emerged from backstage and received a standing ovation when U.S. Attorneys in attendance realized they'd be treated to a surprise performance from the nation's top law enforcement officer. But Barr is a longtime bagpipe aficionado. Before becoming attorney general in former President George H.W. Bush's administration, Barr performed in the City of Washington Pipe Band, one of the world's top bagpipe ensembles, reports The New Yorker. His fellow band member even went so far as to call Barr a "serious piper."
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.
While he no longer competes, or plays daily as he once did, Barr reportedly keeps the party going with raucous bashes replete with fiddles, whiskey, and of course, bagpipes. Watch his Wednesday performance below, via Fox News. Summer Meza
-
The Week Unwrapped: Should we be eating less fat – or more?Podcast Plus who will benefit from the surprise Dutch election result? And how can art improve our health?
-
AI models may be developing a ‘survival drive’Under the radar Chatbots are refusing to shut down
-
Crossword: October 31, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
