Tag Archives: Bill Barr

Mediaite reports: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell decried Democrats’ calls for an investigation into the DOJ obtaining House members’ data and said it’s a “witch hunt in the making.” “Any outrage from Democrats that alleged criminal leaks within their own ranks rightly drew the attention of federal investigators rings completely hollow,” he said. “Attorney General Barr served our nation with …

The New York Times reports: John Demers, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, is expected to step down at the end of next week, according to a person familiar with the matter, a departure that was arranged months ago but now comes amid widespread backlash over investigations into leaks of classified information that began under the Trump …

The Hill reports: John Dean, then-White House counsel to former President Nixon, criticized the Department of Justice’s actions under former President Trump, calling it “Nixon on stilts and steroids” during an interview with CNN. The comments come in light of a recent New York Times report that found both former attorneys general Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr subpoenaed Apple in …

Politico reports: Former Attorney General William Barr on Friday distanced himself from reports that the Trump Justice Department seized communications records belonging to two prominent Democratic lawmakers who were spearheading investigations into then-President Donald Trump. In a phone interview, Barr said he didn’t recall getting briefed on the moves. Barr said that while he was attorney general, he was “not …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) called for former attorneys general Jeff Sessions and William Barr to testify before Congress under oath after revelations that the Trump Justice Department secretly sought records from Apple Inc. related to communications by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee …

The New York Times reports: As the Justice Department investigated who was behind leaks of classified information early in the Trump administration, it took a highly unusual step: Prosecutors subpoenaed Apple for data from the accounts of at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, aides and family members. One was a minor. All told, the records of at …

The New York Times reports: The Trump Justice Department secretly seized the phone records of four New York Times reporters spanning nearly four months in 2017 as part of a leak investigation, the Biden administration disclosed on Wednesday. It was the latest in a series of revelations about the Trump administration secretly obtaining reporters’ communications records in an effort to …

The Washington Post reports: Lawyers for the Justice Department urged a federal judge on Friday to dismiss lawsuits against former president Donald Trump, former attorney general William P. Barr and other officials for last June’s violent clearing of demonstrators from Lafayette Square by U.S. military and police. Trump and other U.S. officials are immune from civil lawsuits over police actions …

CNN reports: The Trump administration secretly sought and obtained the 2017 phone and email records of a CNN correspondent, the latest instance where federal prosecutors have taken aggressive steps targeting journalists in leak investigations. The Justice Department informed CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, in a May 13 letter, that prosecutors had obtained her phone and email records covering two months, …

The Washington Post reports: After Rep. Devin Nunes failed last summer to force Twitter to unmask several accounts dedicated to ruthlessly mocking the California Republican, the Justice Department took aim at one of the congressman’s anonymous critics. Court filings unsealed this week revealed that in the last months of the Trump presidency, the Justice Department used a grand jury subpoena …

Politico reports: A federal judge has ordered the release of a key Justice Department memo supporting former Attorney William Barr’s conclusion that former President Donald Trump should not be prosecuted for obstruction of justice over episodes investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued that ruling in a withering opinion that accused Barr of …

Politico reports: William Barr, Trump’s former attorney general who resigned two days before Christmas after disagreeing publicly with Trump’s voter fraud conspiracy theories, recently sold a book about his time at the Justice Department, according to three people familiar with the deal. This will be Barr’s first book and he started writing it within the last two months, according to …

Politico reports: Barr and the Office of the Attorney General received multiple briefings on the Gaetz probe, beginning in the summer of 2020, a second person familiar with the probe said. They encouraged Florida prosecutors to move as quickly as they needed to and take whatever steps were appropriate. The briefings were consistent with Barr’s memo requiring notification to department …

Axios reports: Attorney General Bill Barr stood behind a chair in the private dining room next to the Oval Office, looming over Donald Trump. The president sat at the head of the table. It was Dec. 1, nearly a month after the election, and Barr had some sharp advice to get off his chest. The president’s theories about a stolen …

Business Insider reports: Former Attorney General William Barr said Thursday that President Donald Trump inciting a violent insurrection on Capitol Hill the previous day was a “betrayal of his office and supporters.” In a statement to the Associated Press, Barr said that “orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable.” Barr also substantially broke with Trump in an interview with …

The Hill reports: Attorney General William Barr on Monday said that Russia is likely behind the unprecedented hack into multiple federal agencies and thousands of private entities, becoming the second senior administration official to place the blame on Moscow in contradiction to statements by President Trump. The attorney general said that he agrees with the assessment by Secretary of State …

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that he does not plan to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of the president-elect. “I think to the extent that there’s an investigation, I think that it’s being handled responsibly and professionally currently within the department,” Barr told reporters at his final news conference …

From the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board: William Barr resigned as Attorney General on Monday, effective Dec. 23, and he’s certainly earned the right to leave early. He has been the right man at the right time for that difficult job, with the principles and toughness to make difficult decisions despite bitter Democrats in Congress and a willful President Trump. …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump on Monday tweeted that Attorney General William Barr is resigning. Barr’s resignation will be in effect “just before Christmas,” according to the president’s tweet. Trump tweeted that Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen will serve as Acting Attorney General. Richard Donoghue will take over duties of the Deputy Attorney General. Trump also tweeted what …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump posted a call for Attorney General William Barr to be fired today if he knew about the Hunter Biden tax investigation in April, but failed to publicly disclose it. But word of the investigation actually did leak in October, a time so optimal for political leaks that there’s a term for it: the October surprise. …