On Tuesday Attorney General Nominee William Barr is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary where he will hope to make his case as to why he is qualified to serve as the U.S. Attorney General.
Barr’s nomination came a month after Attorney General Jeff Sessions was resigned/fired, with President Trump announcing his nomination via Twitter, on December 7th, 2018.
Barr is expected to be confirmed, replacing the Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, however, he is also expected to face a barge of questions surrounding how he will oversee the Special Counsel Robert Mueller Russian Probe in light of the unsolicited 19-page memo he sent to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in June of 2018.
Other questions he is likely to be asked will focus on some of the more controversial Trump Administration immigration policies and what his thoughts are on Presidential Powers.
On Monday evening in the hopes of forestalling some of the barge of questions, Barr released his opening testimony to the Senate Judiciary Panel.
In his statement Barr explains that he believes it is “vitally important,” that Mueller “be allowed to complete his investigation.”
Barr goes on to say that he has “known Bob Mueller personally and professionally for 30 years,” he adds, “when he was named special counsel, I said that his selection was “good news” and that, knowing him, I had confidence he would handle the matter properly. I still have that confidence today.”
Barr also writes that it is important that both the public and Congress be informed of the results of the “Special Counsel’s work.” For that reason he tells the Senate Panel that if confirmed his goal would be, “to provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law.”
Regarding the memo that he sent to Rosenstein, Barr writes that the memo was “narrow in scope,” related only to a single statute that he believed Mueller might be considering based on media reports, as it related to President Trump and obstruction of justice.
As a reminder the News Blender reported on Wednesday, Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein is expected to depart the Trump Administration sometime in February given the Senate successfully confirms Barr as the next Attorney General. Rosenstein is currently overseeing the Special Counsel Robert Mueller Russian Probe.
The Senate Judiciary Committee now led by South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (R), is set to convene at 9:30 a.m. eastern time.
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