Trump reportedly pushed Australia's prime minister to work with Barr and 'discredit' Mueller


President Trump is reportedly asking for favors around the world.
Just weeks after he asked Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for a "favor," Trump reportedly asked Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison for another one. He wanted Morrison to work with Attorney General William Barr to investigate the origins of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe and hopefully discredit it, two American officials with knowledge of the call tell The New York Times.
Trump "initiated the call" with Morrison "for the purpose of requesting Australia's help in the Justice Department review of the Russia investigation," the two people tell the Times. One of those people also said Barr told Trump to call Morrison in the first place. The request amounted to asking Australia to investigate itself, the Times says, as the FBI probe into Russian election interference started after Australian officials warned the FBI that Russia had offered to help the Trump campaign.
Subscribe to 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.
The call is similar to the one between Trump and Zelensky recounted in a White House memorandum released last week. In that case, Trump asked Zelensky to talk with Barr in an effort to investigate the DNC email hack and former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. The Australia call similarly shows how Trump sees Barr as a "critical partner" to achieve his goals and "shows the president using high-level diplomacy to advance his personal political interests," the Times writes.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment, while spokespeople for the White House and for the Australian prime minister did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Read more at The New York Times.
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
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 10, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and more
-
5 streetwise cartoons about defunding PBS
Cartoons Artists take on immigrant puppets, defense spending, and more
-
Dark chocolate macadamia cookies recipe
The Week Recommends These one-bowl cookies will melt in your mouth
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment