Barr's confirmation hearing just kicked off, and he's already gone against Trump in big ways
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Yuri Gripas/Reuters
William Barr testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be attorney general of the United States on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2019.
Within the first two hours of Attorney General nominee William Barr's confirmation hearing on Tuesday, he had made significant breaks from President Donald Trump.
Barr made it clear he does not agree with the president on array of issues, perhaps most notably special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign's alleged collusion.Barr, who has a personal relationship with Mueller, also said he would allow the special counsel to finish the investigation if he's confirmed as attorney general.
Trump has repeatedly called for the investigation to end, and apparently even sought to have Mueller fired but ultimately backed down after senior White House officials vehemently objected. Read more: William Barr says in prepared testimony that Mueller should be allowed to 'complete his work' on the Russia probeBarr also said he believed former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was correct to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, a move that outraged Trump and led to his deteriorating relationship with Sessions.
Sessions ultimately resigned at the request of the president last November after repeatedly being publicly lambasted by Trump on the recusal issue.
In his opening remarks, Barr also seemed to take a veiled jab at Trump's attacks on the Department of Justice, arguing it should not be politicized in any context."In the current environment, there are places in the government where the rule of law - not politics - holds sway... The Department of Justice must be that place," Barr said.
Trump has at times claimed he has virtually unlimited power to pardon people as president -including himself. This has been a point of concern surrounding Mueller's investigation and Trump associates who've landed in legal trouble, particularly his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.Barr told Leahy: "No, that would be a crime."
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