William Barr was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, clearing a path for President Trump’s nominee to become attorney general.
Barr’s nomination now heads to a full Senate vote next week, where he is expected to be confirmed.
Before the 12-10 party-line vote in the Judiciary Committee, Democrats opposing Barr due to concerns he may interfere with the federal Russia investigation conceded he is qualified and has a well-intentioned view on the rule of law.
“We must look not only to Barr’s qualifications, but his judgment to see if he can be the kind of attorney general we need in this moment in our nation’s history,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a left-leaning Trump critic who is expected to announce a bid for the presidency this weekend. “Trump wants someone who will be his lawyer. That should worry us. This is not a time to mess around with the Constitution.”
One of Barr’s biggest responsibilities as attorney general will be overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“I will build on the work already done by Special Counsel Mueller and current Department of Justice leadership and ensure the full might of our resources are brought to bear against foreign persons who unlawfully interfere in our elections,” Barr said as part of his prepared remarks before the committee as part of his confirmation process.
Barr, 69, served as attorney general once before at the end of George H.W. Bush’s administration following a decadeslong career in the CIA and legal private practice.
Democrats attempted to delay Barr’s nomination after they discovered a memo he wrote to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein relating to Trump and the ongoing investigations into his campaign, personal finances, and administration.
In the memo, Barr criticized Mueller and his potential probe into obstruction of justice by Trump.
On Thursday before the vote, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called the memo “disqualifying.”
Another sticking point on Barr for Democrats was his refusal to say he would demand all the details of Mueller’s final report on Trump be made public.
“Nothing in existing law prevents the AG from providing the report,” Feinstein, the ranking member on the committee, said. “This nominee is reluctant to state a position, and that is troubling at the very least.”
Barr said during his confirmation hearing last month that Mueller’s findings in his Russia investigation will be confidential but that he supports their release to the public. “My objective and goal is to get as much as I can of the information to Congress and the public,” he said.
Looming over Mueller’s investigation is the constitutional question of whether or not a sitting president can be indicted.
“We’ve never seen a president who has so viewed the Justice Department as an extension of his power,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. “ We know that Barr’s testimony lays the groundwork for absolutely no transparency at all.”
Matthew Whitaker has been serving as acting attorney general since November and last month told reporters he expected Mueller to finish up his investigation soon.
Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., echoed those remarks and painted Barr as a man of professionalism and integrity.
“My main goal is to make sure Mueller finishes without interference,” Graham said. “I trust that Barr will make sure classified information is protected and share as much as he reasonably can. I trust him.”
