Trump’s AG pick: ‘Vitally important’ Mueller finish work

to disclose to Congress whatever report or conclusions Mueller turns in.

But Barr, who also moved to quell concerns during private meetings last week with lawmakers, will insist that Trump had “sought no assurances, promises, or commitments from me of any kind, either express or implied.”

“As Attorney General, my allegiance will be to the rule of law, the Constitution, and the American people,” Barr will say. “That is how it should be. That is how it must be. And, if you confirm me, that is how it will be.”

Barr’s supervisory role may be especially important since Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and has overseen his day-to-day work, expects to leave the Justice Department soon after Barr is confirmed. It is not clear how much of the investigation will be left by that point.

Barr would replace acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who declined to recuse himself from the investigation over past critical comments on it — despite calls from Democrats and the advice of a Justice Department ethics official.

In his memo, sent in June to Rosenstein and to the head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, Barr criticized as “fatally misconceived” the theory of obstruction that Mueller appeared to be pursuing. He said presidents cannot be criminally investigated for actions they are permitted to take under the Constitution, such as firing officials who work for them, just because of a subjective determination that they may have had a corrupt state of mind.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec has said Barr wrote the memo on his own initiative and relying only on publicly available information. She said senior ethics officials were consulted about the memo and have advised that it presents no conflict of interest to Barr’s work as attorney general.

In his remarks Tuesday, Barr will say that the memo was narrowly focused on a single theory of obstruction that media reports suggested Mueller might be considering.

“The memo did not address — or in any way question — the Special Counsel’s core investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election,” Barr will say.