WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr has told people close to him he’s considering quitting his post after President Donald Trump wouldn’t heed his warning to stop tweeting about Justice Department cases, an administration official told The Associated Press.
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The revelation came days after Barr took a public swipe at the president, saying in a television interview that Trump’s tweets about Justice Department cases and staffers make it “impossible” for him to do his job. The next day, Trump ignored Barr’s request and insisted that he has the “legal right” to intervene in criminal cases and sidestep the Justice Department’s historical independence.
Trump tweeted on Tuesday that he’s considering suing those involved in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and opined that his confidant Roger Stone deserved a new trial after being convicted of witness tampering and obstruction.
Barr, serving in his second stint as attorney general, sought to paint himself as an independent leader who would not bow to political pressure. But Democrats have repeatedly accused Barr of acting more like the president’s personal attorney than the attorney general. Barr proved to be a largely reliable Trump ally and defender of presidential power.
In recent days, a stream of Trump allies, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, have issued statements expressing their full confidence in the attorney general.
But Trump has a low tolerance for criticism, especially public criticism, from his allies and often fires back in kind.
President Trump has to be very careful here. If Barr quits, who will they be able to replace him with? Jeff Sessions was a disaster. He got us into this whole mess to begin with. Rod Rosentein was terrible. The only one that was very good was Matthew Whitaker. The problem is, with all the hatred coming from the Democrats, I don’t think he can be confirmed by the Senate.
Some more fake news by AP
either he using the threat of resigning to clear his conscious or he will leave the sewage place
Kind of hard to be a political operator and say you were acting with independence and integrity when the President is tweeting that you should do those politically motivated things you were doing. Barr is getting nervous and wants to avoid being dis-barred and/or ending up behind bars.
Lets hope he is just using this so the rightful thing he did with Stone is not pushed back
Totally fake news.
Barr would have to have at least a hint of ethics, morals, shame and self-respect to think about leaving The Great Orange Swamp Creature.