Trump nominated William Barr for the post of US Attorney General: who is he

US President Donald Trump announced that he will nominate William Barr for the post of Attorney General. He already held this post - under George H. W. Bush. Barr will also oversee the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the US elections, which is being led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Photo: Wikipedia, public domain

Trump announced his decision to journalists, going on a trip to Kansas, writes Air force. “He has been my number one choice from the first day of my presidency,” the American leader said. “He will be nominated,” Trump said.

At the same time, he announced that Heather Neuert was nominating for the post of the country's permanent representative to the UN, who until now had been the press secretary of the US Department of State.

A month ago, 7 November, immediately after the Trump mid-term elections fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions and appointed in his stead Matthew Whitaker, Chief Justice Officer.

Before Barr becomes the Prosecutor General and the head of the Justice Ministry again, he will have to go through an approval process in the US Senate. However, the Republican Party there, following the results of the November 6 mid-term elections, was able to maintain and even strengthen its majority.

Trump hopes Barr's confirmation "will happen very quickly."

Later on Twitter, Trump called Barr "one of the most respected lawyers in the country" and expressed hope that he would be an excellent addition to his team.

The fact that the president will nominate for the position of Prosecutor General Barr, previously reported sources of the newspaper The New York Times.

Who is Barr and what did he say about “Russian interference”

William Barr 68 years, he began his career in the CIA, then worked in the White House under President Ronald Reagan.

Barr was already attorney general in the George H. W. Bush administration from 1991 to 1993. There he earned a reputation as a supporter of expanding presidential powers.

For example, during the Gulf War and operations in Panama, Barr told the president that he had the right to send troops anywhere without asking for congressional permission.

After working in the Justice Department, Barr served as chief lawyer for telecommunications company Verizon until 2008, until he retired. At the post of Prosecutor General, he will be in charge of the investigation of the Special Prosecutor Robert Muller.

How the “Russian investigation” began

In 2016, the American intelligence services came to the conclusion that Russia during the presidential elections in the United States tried to influence the results of the vote so that Trump won.

Methods of influence include hacking computer systems, stealing documents, and publishing fake news. Moscow denies all accusations of interference, according to American intelligence agencies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called these suspicions a figment.

The investigation, which is headed by Special Prosecutor Muller, is trying to determine who was involved in the operation to intervene in the elections.

In the course of the investigation, Muller and his team found that people from Trump's inner circle communicated with Russian officials and businessmen, and that information about some contacts was hidden.

The charges have already been brought against some representatives of Trump's entourage: the ex-chief of his headquarters, Paul Manafort, ex-advisers Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos, and also the former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

In July, the Office of the Special Prosecutor launched new charges of investigating Russian interference in the American elections against 12 officers of two GRU divisions. Russians are accused of hacking computer systems, stealing documents and personal data.

What Barr thinks about the “Russian affair”

Barr criticized Muller’s investigation, in particular, for hiring, in his opinion, too many prosecutors who invested money in Democratic election campaigns.

At the same time, he defended Trump's calls to investigate former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton - in particular, regarding the uranium deal with Russia. Clinton concluded it in 2010 during the presidency of Barack Obama, while serving as Secretary of State.

The deal involved the transfer of the Canadian uranium mining company Uranium One to the control of the Russian state corporation Rosatom.

At the same time, Barr said that the ideal Prosecutor General serves the law, not the president.

For which they fired the past General Prosecutor

Sessions, while he was the Prosecutor General, Trump subjected to constant criticism, including publicly.

The problems began in the spring of 2017. Seshns caught in meetings and conversations with former Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in 2016 year. Then Sessions, while still a senator from the state of Alabama, was part of Trump's headquarters during the election campaign.

The conflict was that Sesns in the spring of 2017, as Prosecutor General, oversaw the investigation of Russian interference in the election, which was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the leadership of James Komi.

Seshns decided not to resign, but he withdrew from the supervision of the investigation, transferring his powers to his deputy, Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein and appointed in May 2017, Special Prosecutor Muller to investigate Russian intervention and a possible agreement between Trump’s entourage and Russia.

“He took the job and then said, ‘I’m going to quit,’” Trump fumed. “What kind of person is this?”

In the end, after more than a year of criticism and regular media reports about Seshn’s imminent dismissal, Trump fired him.

And about. Whitaker became Attorney General; he also criticized the Mueller investigation. He said, for example, that the financial affairs of the Trump family are not within the purview of Mueller’s investigators, noting that if they try to investigate this too, they could be suspected of a “witch hunt.”

Whitaker, even before his appointment to the Justice Department, also said that he “can fully see a scenario” in which the new prosecutor general would not have to fire Mueller, but rather cut the budget for his investigation so much that it would stall on its own.

The Trump administration's decision to appoint Whitaker to head the Justice Department caused a storm of criticism from the US Congress - the president was even accused of abuse of power.

Barr faces 'a lot of tough questions'

Unlike Whitaker, the congressmen were more loyal to Barr's candidacy.

“Obviously, Bill Barr, as someone who has already served [in this position], has good recommendations,” Republican congressman Mark Meadows, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told the BBC.

“I just heard about William Barr, I don’t know much about him, the main issue now is that Whitaker remains acting attorney general, although he has not been confirmed by the Senate, and I believe that this is unconstitutional , said Democrat and Vice-Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler. “There are many questions about his bias, about his reprehensible statements regarding the Mueller investigation, and they have not been answered. And they should be."

“I really hope that William Barr will approach the Mueller investigation responsibly. Whitaker was the wrong choice even to be acting attorney general,” Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told the BBC.

In his opinion, at the Senate hearings on the appointment of Barr as attorney general, he will be asked “a lot of pointed questions” about how he will continue the Mueller investigation. “We need to ensure that the special counsel can work unhindered,” he added. The congressman also expressed hope that at the same time the House would be able to pass a law protecting Mueller himself.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Permanent Representative of the United States in the UN will be the ex-TV presenter

The Pentagon assessed the chances of Russia to destroy the United States

The Pentagon made an important decision for the owners of green cards

Experts: US can lose the war to China or Russia

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.