Trump attacks Justice Dept
US President urges attorney general to ‘clean shop’ at DoJ
Even as President Donald Trump renewed his public attacks on the Justice Department yesterday, there was little outward worry from either end of Pennsylvania Avenue that Attorney General William Barr would follow through on his private threat to resign over presidential meddling.
Barr’s suggestion that he may quit over the president’s tweets left many close to Trump questioning whether the attorney general really was considering stepping aside, instead believing he was trying to quell an internal uproar at the Department of Justice, bolster his reputation and his ability to act on Trump’s behalf.
Barr told people close to him he has considered leaving his post after Trump wouldn’t heed his request to stop tweeting about the agency’s cases. The attorney general last week had taken a public swipe at the president, saying that Trump’s tweets about Justice Department cases and
staffers make it “impossible” for him to do his job.
But Trump has repeatedly ignored that advice, insisting that he has the “legal right” to intervene in criminal cases. In a series of retweets yesterday, he embraced the suggestion that Barr “clean shop” at the department and appoint a special counsel to probe both the agency and the FBI.
Multiple White House officials insisted the spat with Barr was being
overblown and that the attorney general would not be going anywhere. But they also acknowledged there was zero chance Trump would refrain from tweeting about the department as requested by Barr.
Republicans on Capital Hill also played down the odds of a Barr departure. But in the last few days, some of the president’s closest GOP allies have been letting Trump know they think Barr is the right person to lead his Justice Department. Trump, usually unwilling to let a public slight from an aide go unpunished, has not expressed much anger at Barr’s candor, according to three White House officials and Republicans close to the West Wing.
Barr’s spokeswoman said the attorney general had “no plans to resign”. Still, former officials called on Barr to step down from his post after what they see as an erosion of the Justice Department’s historical independence.
“The Justice Department has never been perfect, but it has worked very hard to be above suspicion for outright dishonesty and bias and the invasion of politics into it,” said Donald Ayer, who was a deputy attorney general under Republican President George H.W. Bush and succeeded by Barr. “What’s going on now is that’s being torn down. I don’t remember anything like this that has ever happened.”
Barr, serving in his second stint as attorney general, has sought to paint himself as an independent leader who would not bow to political pressure. But Democrats have repeatedly accused him of acting more like the president’s personal attorney than the attorney general.