Reports: Barr Considering Resigning Over Trump Tweets, ‘Interference’ in DOJ
Reports breaking Tuesday night by The Washington Post and CNN state that Attorney General William Barr has told associates he is considering resigning over President Trump’s tweets and ‘interference’ with the Department of Justice.
Attorney General William Barr, November 2019 file image.
CNN’s Kaitlin Collins reported, “CNN: Attorney General William Barr has considered resigning over President Trump’s interference with Justice Department matters, mainly his tweets, according to a source close to the situation.”
CNN: Attorney General William Barr has considered resigning over President Trump’s interference with Justice Department matters, mainly his tweets, according to a source close to the situation. @kaitlancollins
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) February 19, 2020
The Washington Post headlined: “Barr has told those close to Trump he is considering quitting over the president’s tweets about Justice Dept. investigations”
Attorney General William P. Barr has told people close to President Trump — both inside and outside the White House — that he is considering quitting over Trump’s tweets about Justice Department investigations, three administration officials said, foreshadowing a possible confrontation between the president and his attorney general over the independence of the Justice Department.
So far, Trump has defied Barr’s requests, both public and private, to keep quiet on matters of federal law enforcement. It was not immediately clear Tuesday if Barr had made his posture known directly to Trump.
The administration officials said Barr seemed to be sharing his position with advisers in hopes the president would get the message that he should stop weighing in publicly on the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal investigations.
“He has his limits,” said one person familiar with Barr’s thinking, speaking on the condition of anonymity, like others, to discuss internal deliberations.
…Some people familiar with Barr’s thinking cautioned that he would not make a hasty decision to leave, and it is unclear what precisely would trigger him to take such a dramatic step.
