Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on Tuesday will press Attorney General nominee William Barr with questions about the need to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired and the limits of President Trump’s power.
“His last confirmation hearing was 27 years ago ― we can’t pretend that these are similar times. These are very different times, and I think its very important he makes his commitment to the rule of law and, in particular, the protection of the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., during a conference call with reporters Monday.
Coons said Barr’s opening statement, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner on Monday, set a “good tone” heading into Tuesday’s confirmation hearing. However, he still has a number of outstanding Mueller-related questions, as well as questions on “his view of executive power.”
“The big question in my mind is, will he leave Mueller alone?” ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, told reporters last week after meeting with Barr. “That means no interference, no budgetary control, no stoppage, nothing. That is only going to get answered well in public.”
Feinstein said her first question will be on “Mueller’s independence.”
Assuming he does not recuse himself, one of Barr’s roles as attorney general would be to oversee Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and possible connections to the Trump campaign. That investigation has been overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s office since May 2017, when he appointed the special counsel after the recusal of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
In his confirmation hearing, Barr will likely have to explain his reasoning behind sending a lengthy and unsolicited memo to top Justice Department officials last year that said Mueller’s focus on whether President Trump obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey in May 2017 was “fatally misconceived.” That statement has raised doubts among Democrats about how Barr would handle the Mueller investigation.
“The Senate, starting with the Judiciary Committee, should subject Mr. Barr’s views to the strictest of scrutiny … and I still believe, after the revelations about Mr. Barr’s unsolicited memo, President Trump ought to withdraw this nomination,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., from the Senate floor last week.
The memo also prompted every Democrat on the Judiciary Committee to ask the Justice Department to clarify its ethics policies.
“Mr. Barr’s record, including statements and opinions that he has expressed regarding Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, will be explored by Congress in the course of his confirmation, and will also warrant consideration by the Department’s career ethics officials if he is confirmed,” the lawmakers wrote.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked Barr in a letter to follow in the footsteps of Robert Bork, who protected special prosecutor Archibald Cox as he investigated the Watergate scandal in 1973. Whitehouse also grilled Barr about his communications with the White House and the legal team for Trump, as well as the June 2018 memo on the special counsel.
Lawmakers will also use their time to question Barr about his previous policy positions from his time in Justice Department leadership in the 1990s.
Barr, 68, first served as the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, from April 1989 to May 1990. He became deputy attorney general in May 1990 before he was nominated by late President George H.W. Bush to be attorney general in late 1991.
As deputy attorney general, Barr wrote in memos and advised Bush that the president needed congressional approval to attack Iraq. In 1992, as attorney general, Barr endorsed Bush’s pardons of six people who were caught up in the Iran-Contra scandal from the Reagan administration.
That use of pardons, as well as broad presidential authority, take up new relevance because of Trump’s continual disparaging of the Mueller investigation and whether the president could use his pardon power after the conclusion of the Russia investigation.
During a Sunday interview on ABC, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he is “worried” about Barr for those reasons.
“Clearly he is a good lawyer, no question. But when it comes to this delicate political situation, the power of the presidency, whether this investigation is warranted, Bill Barr had better give us ironclad, rock-bottom assurances in terms of his independence,” said Durbin, who is also on the Judiciary Committee.
Last week, after meeting with lawmakers, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Barr told him he was committed to allowing Mueller to finish his inquiry.
“I can assure you he has a very high opinion of Mr. Mueller, and he’s committed to seeing Mr. Mueller complete his job,” Graham said. “I asked Mr. Barr directly, ‘Do you think Mr. Mueller is on a witch hunt?’ He said no. ‘Do you think he’d be fair to the president and the country as a whole?’ He said yes.”
Graham indicated that Barr and Mueller have a personal friendship that goes back years and that he would follow the Justice Department’s protocols while “erring on the side of transparency” when it comes time to turn over Mueller’s final report to both Congress and the public.
Mueller is nearing a pivotal moment in his investigation, with many speculating it is nearing its conclusion. In the roughly 20 months since he took over the investigation, Mueller’s team has charged more than three dozen people, including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.
