The New York Times and Washington Post reported yesterday that Attorney General William Barr solicited help from foreign leaders in regards to his investigation into the origins of the Mueller investigation, and that President Trump specifically asked the Australian government to assist Barr. This is a new story and certainly an important one, but it should not be conflated with the Ukraine scandal.
Legally, Trump’s phone call to Australia is very different from his phone call to Ukraine, just as Barr’s actions overseas are very different from Trump’s actions on the phone with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Barr’s investigation into the origins of the Russia hoax is both established and official. It’s not illegal or even shady for him to seek aid with it outside the United States. Whether he should is another matter entirely. But because the Russia investigation is an international affair involving multiple countries, it’s not unreasonable Barr would ask for their cooperation.
Likewise, Trump’s request that Australia assist Barr in his credible, established investigation is different from his conversation with Zelensky, in which he asked Ukraine to help dig up dirt on Joe Biden — a U.S. citizen who was not under any investigation. In his phone call with Zelensky, Trump was, in essence, asking Ukraine to open up a new, independent investigation. He did this instead of going to the DOJ and FBI. Why? Because at its core, this request was about the 2020 election, and asking a foreign government to conduct opposition research on your political rival is a big no-no.
There’s another important distinction that Philip Klein points out: the Ukraine phone call involved Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani — a man who is not authorized to handle matters of national security. “It is much more difficult to make the case that Trump was acting out of national interest to rid Ukraine of corruption when he’s dispatching his personal lawyer to look into the case,” Klein writes.
Trump’s phone call with Zelensky demonstrated an overt willingness to use presidential power for personal gain. With Ukraine, he deliberately asked a foreign government to investigate his political opponent instead of asking U.S. authorities to open a lawful, official investigation. The purpose was clear: Trump wanted dirt that would help him get reelected so he went to someone that had it.
The same can’t be said of his conversation with Australia, or of Barr’s interactions with other foreign leaders. Did Trump hope to discredit the Mueller investigation with Australia’s help? Certainly. But because Barr’s investigation was legal, it’s difficult to tie it directly to personal gain in the same way as the Ukraine phone call.
Neither of these conversations was appropriate. Trump shouldn’t be using foreign policy to advance a political agenda in any way, shape, or form, and neither should Barr. But because these conversations offer very different outcomes, they’re not comparable in legal or political terms.
