Barr tells committee that Mueller should proceed

WASHINGTON—In his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, William Barr, President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, pledged to allow special counsel Robert Mueller to continue his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election unimpeded. In his opening statement to the committee, Barr said he would not fire Mueller and would let him complete his probe: “It is in the best interest of everyone—the president, Congress, and, most importantly, the American people—that this matter be resolved by allowing the special counsel to complete his work.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked Barr whether he had ever discussed the Mueller probe with Trump. Barr said he met the president in June 2017 and they “discussed the Mueller investigation but not in any substance.”

Committee Democrats are expected to grill Barr on his views on executive power and about a memo he sent the Justice Department on June 8, 2018, criticizing Mueller’s team for investigating whether Trump had obstructed justice in the Russia investigation. Barr argued that the president should not be accused of obstruction when he is exercising his constitutional authority with actions like firing someone or issuing a presidential pardon. “If a DOJ investigation is going to take down a democratically elected President, it is imperative to the health of our system and to our national cohesion that any claim of wrongdoing is solidly based on evidence of a real crime—not a debatable one,” Barr wrote. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who received the memo, told The Wall Street Journal he did not share it with Mueller or Trump and it did not affect the investigation.

With a 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate, Barr is expected to win confirmation, guaranteeing him the top spot at the Department of Justice. Trump nominated Barr for the position after Jeff Sessions resigned at the president’s request. Barr previously served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush and was unanimously confirmed by a Democratic-majority Senate in 1991.