Barr's Actions: Lawful Or Criminal?

William Pelham Barr, an American attorney, has served as the United States Attorney General twice: first, in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993, and then again in the administration of President Donald Trump from 2019 to 2020. Barr's actions during his second tenure as Attorney General have been the subject of much controversy and scrutiny, with critics accusing him of politicising the Department of Justice and inflicting damage upon it.

One of the main allegations against Barr is that he misled Congress about the conclusions of the Mueller Report, which investigated Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went so far as to accuse Barr of committing perjury, a claim that Barr's supporters refute. Barr has also been criticised for his involvement in the cases of Trump associates Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, as well as for his use of force against demonstrators in Lafayette Square.

Barr's defenders, on the other hand, argue that he is rightly frustrated by the federal probes into the president and that his Department of Justice operates independently, without influence from the Trump White House. They also point to his involvement in the Stone and Flynn cases as examples of him taking a stand against problematic actions taken by career staff at the DOJ.

Barr's actions and statements during his time as Attorney General under Trump have sparked fierce opposition among both current and former DOJ officials, with some going as far as to call for his resignation.

Barr's handling of the Mueller report

On March 22, 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and gave the final report to Attorney General William Barr. Barr then submitted a four-page letter to Congress on March 24, describing what he said were the report's principal conclusions. Barr stated that the Special Counsel did not establish conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia's efforts to interfere with the 2016 election. Barr also said that the Special Counsel made no decision on whether to prosecute Trump for obstruction of justice, and that the decision was left to him. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein concluded that the evidence was "not sufficient to establish" obstruction of justice by Trump, and they decided not to press charges.

Mueller complained to Barr in a private letter and phone call, expressing his concerns that Barr's summary of the report did not adequately capture the seriousness of his findings. Mueller stressed in his report, and in later public statements, that he did not exonerate the president, and that it was not an option to charge Trump due to longstanding Justice Department policy that sitting presidents cannot be indicted.

Mueller sent another letter to Barr on March 27, stating that Barr's summary "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance" of the Special Counsel's probe. Mueller also said that Barr's summary had caused "public confusion" about critical aspects of the investigation, and that Barr's actions threatened to "undermine a central purpose" of the investigation, which was to ensure "full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations."

Barr's alleged perjury

William Barr, the former Attorney General of the United States, has been accused of perjury by critics. Barr has been accused of politicising the Department of Justice and of protecting former President Donald Trump. Barr has been accused of intervening in the criminal cases of Trump's associates, including Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, and Michael Cohen. Barr has also been accused of misleading the public about the findings of the Mueller report, which investigated Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Barr has denied these accusations, arguing that he has only ever acted in the interests of justice and that his decisions were not politically motivated.

In March 2019, Barr submitted a four-page letter to Congress describing the principal conclusions of the Mueller report. Barr stated that the report found no evidence of conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. He also said that the report did not conclude whether Trump had obstructed justice, leaving the decision to the Justice Department. However, critics argue that Barr's letter mischaracterised and omitted key findings of the report. They claim that Barr's summary established a public narrative about the report's findings before the redacted version was released to the public.

In addition to these allegations, Barr has also been accused of using force against peaceful protestors in Lafayette Square in June 2020 and of firing Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who was investigating Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Barr has denied these accusations and maintains that his actions were lawful and justified.

Barr's view of presidential power

William Barr is a longtime proponent of the unitary executive theory of nearly unfettered presidential authority over the executive branch of the U.S. government. Barr's view of presidential power is expansive and he supports "law and order" policies. He has been described as a "leader of the parole-abolition campaign" in Virginia and has supported an aggressive "law and order" agenda on immigration. Barr is also a proponent of the death penalty, arguing that it reduces crime.

Barr has a history of involvement with controversial pardons. Notably, he advised President George H.W. Bush to pardon six Reagan officials who were involved in the Iran-Contra affair, without consulting the pardon attorney. Barr has also been criticised for his handling of the Mueller report, his interventions in the convictions and sentences of former advisors to President Trump, his order to resume federal executions after 17 years, and allegations of political interference in the removal of Geoffrey Berman from his Southern District of New York attorney position.

Barr's supporters argue that, as Attorney General, he gets the final say on the Justice Department's moves. They point to his involvement in Roger Stone's sentencing and the government's changed stance on Michael Flynn's criminal case as examples of Barr rightfully exercising his authority. However, Barr's critics maintain that he has politicised and damaged the Justice Department, particularly in the lead-up to the 2020 election. They argue that Barr's efforts were focused on getting Trump re-elected and that he abused the powers of the Justice Department to achieve this.

Barr himself has stated that he believed the framers of the Constitution did not originally intend to create a right to abortion, and that Roe v. Wade was thus wrongly decided. However, during his 1991 confirmation hearings, Barr said that Roe was "the law of the land" and that he did not have "fixed or settled views" on the subject.

Barr's intervention in cases of Trump associates

William Barr, the former US Attorney General, has been accused of intervening in cases involving associates of President Trump. Barr's critics have alleged that he undermined the conviction of Trump's fixer, Michael Cohen, for campaign finance violations. Barr reportedly raised doubts about the validity of the charges against Cohen and requested the Office of Legal Counsel to draft a memo with legal arguments that could help Cohen's case. However, Barr's efforts were thwarted by the prosecutors of the Southern District of New York, and Cohen's conviction remained unchanged.

Barr also faced criticism for his involvement in the cases of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, both former advisors to Trump. In the case of Roger Stone, Barr was accused of intervening to suggest a lighter sentence after Stone was convicted of witness tampering and lying to Congress. This intervention led to the resignation of four career prosecutors from the case, with one prosecutor resigning from the Department of Justice entirely. Barr affirmed that he made the decision to change the sentencing memo, stating that Trump's tweets and public comments made it impossible for him to do his job.

Additionally, Barr declared that there would be a review of the criminal case of Michael Flynn, who had pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with a Russian ambassador. Barr chose St. Louis's chief federal prosecutor, Jeffrey Jensen, to conduct the review. Jensen recommended dropping the charges against Flynn, and the Justice Department announced in May 2020 that the charges would be dropped. Barr denied carrying out the president's agenda, stating that he was "doing the law's bidding."

Barr's interventions in these cases involving Trump associates have sparked widespread criticism and allegations of political interference. His actions have been seen as a departure from the traditional independence of the Department of Justice and have led to calls for his resignation from various groups, including the New York City Bar Association.

Barr's involvement in the Lafayette Square incident

On June 1, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests in Washington, D.C., law enforcement officers used tear gas and other riot control tactics to forcefully clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square, creating a path for President Donald Trump and senior administration officials to walk from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church.

Attorney General William Barr was present at the scene and urged officials to speed up the process of clearing the area once Trump had decided to walk through it. Barr's involvement in the incident was investigated by the Interior Department's inspector general, Mark Greenblatt, who found that Barr's physical presence in the park had no impact on the decision to clear it. However, Barr did ask the Park Police operations commander: "Are these people still going to be here when POTUS comes out?"

The report concluded that the Park Police's plan to clear Lafayette Square and surrounding areas was lawful and consistent with policy, but made no conclusions on whether the implementation of the plan was a good decision. It also found that the Park Police had the authority to clear the park and decided to do so hours before anyone knew Trump planned to make an appearance.

The incident was widely condemned as excessive force and an affront to the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly. Civil liberties groups filed a federal lawsuit against Trump, Barr, and other federal officials, alleging they violated protesters' constitutional rights.

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