President Trump said it would be well within his authority to discuss a possible investigation into his potential 2020 challenger Joe Biden with Attorney General William Barr.
“Certainly it would be an appropriate thing to speak to him about, but I have not done that as of yet,” Trump told Politico on Friday. “It could be a very big situation.”
Last week, responding to a question from Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, another 2020 contender, Barr said “there have been discussions” but the White House had “not asked me to open an investigation” into anyone.
Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani had planned to travel to Ukraine to pressure the incoming government to look at Biden’s son Hunter’s connection to a Ukrainian gas company and whether the former vice president pushed the Ukrainian government to remove a prosecutor to benefit his son. Facing attacks that he was seeking foreign assistance for Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, Giuliani announced Friday he would not go.
Trump said he had not spoken with Giuliani about his trip at the time of the interview.
The alleged conflict of interest would be a full-fledged scandal if Biden were a Republican, Trump said.
