who was attorney general before barr

He graduated in 1977 with a Juris Doctor with highest honors. [10] Berman learned of this through press reports and declined to resign; the next day, Barr asked Trump to fire Berman, which he promptly did. [315] In November 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani figured in an SDNY investigation into multiple possible felonies. [89][90][91], In February 2017, Barr argued Trump was justified in firing Acting Attorney General Sally Yates over her refusal to defend Executive Order 13769. [36] His two-day confirmation hearing was "unusually placid", and he was received well by both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. [281], Barr defended Trump's April 2020 firing of intelligence community inspector general Michael K. Atkinson. [86][87], In 2017, Barr said there was "nothing inherently wrong" with Donald Trump's calls for investigating Hillary Clinton while the two were both running for president. Bush: Bill Barr Is on a Mission to Install Trump as an 'Autocrat', "January 6 committee has been talking with ex-attorney general William Barr, chairman says", "Barr able to put his stamp on executive power as Trump's AG", "Barr's Justice Department serves up talking points for Trump", "Health Dept. [83], In 2009, Barr was briefly of counsel to the firm Kirkland & Ellis. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 77th & 85th United States Attorney General (born 1950), "Bill Barr" redirects here. The committee subpoenaed Gore over the Trump administration's efforts to add a question on citizenship to the 2020 United States Census. [267] Barr rejected criticism by Democrats in Congress that the transitioned investigation was designed to provide support to Trump during his impeachment inquiry in the Trump-Ukraine scandal. As Walton saw it, Barr's "lack of candor" undermined Barr's "credibility and, in turn, the department's" arguments before the court. Circuit. Matt McClain via Reuters 9:38 a.m. Our relationship. Walton made his comments while presiding over a lawsuit on whether the Mueller report should be released without redactions. [145] The day after Barr's interview, the Department of Homeland Security issued an intelligence bulletin warning that Russia is using social media and other venues to promote false claims that mail voting will lead to widespread fraud, in order "to undermine public trust in the electoral process". Barr testified Trump never gave "an indication of interest in what the actual facts were," adding the president had "become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff. Agents Storm Prison in Alabama, Freeing 9 Hostages", "In the 1990s, Joe Biden said William Barr was "one of the best" attorneys general", "Barr Opposed to Roe vs. Wade Decision: Justice Dept. Jackson rejected this argument after reviewing the unredacted memo, stating that Barr could not have made the decision on the memo's advice, because the unredacted memo showed that the decision had already been made not to charge Trump. "[242], In May 2019, Barr asserted, "Government power was used to spy on American citizens. [2] [10] Barr's demand followed a concerted pressure campaign by Erdogan and his close associates, including his son-in-law, Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, and Mehmet Ali Yalcindag, a Trump family friend involved in developing the Trump towers in Turkey;[10] Erdogan himself personally insisted to President Trump that the Halkbank investigation be shut down on at least two occasions, November 1, 2018, at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, and on a telephone call on December 14, 2018. President Donald Trump nominated William Barr, 68, who is a close friend of Mueller, to be his attorney general months after Barr had sent an unsolicited 19-page memo to the president's lawyers . The reason for the refusal was that the committee's decision to not allow a Justice Department lawyer to accompany Gore during testimony violated "the confidentiality interests of the Executive Branch" (though a separate room was permitted). Wall Street Journal. From 1994 to 2008, Barr did corporate legal work for GTE and its successor company Verizon Communications, which made him a multimillionaire. Before becoming attorney general in 1991, Barr held numerous other posts within the Department of Justice, including leading the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and serving as deputy attorney general. AP Photo/Evan Vucci President Donald Trump announced Monday that Attorney General William. CNN reported that investigators sought information about several online accounts relating to threats against senator Mitch McConnell. [336] Three months later, Ayer claimed Barr "is on a mission to install the president as an autocrat". [312][313] A bar association may take years to investigate an ethics complaint filed against a lawyer. [111], In May 2019, three months into his tenure as attorney general, the Associated Press characterized Barr as a champion and advocate for Trump. government. Director's Role in Russian Interference Findings", "Here are the Russia probe conspiracy theories debunked by the DOJ inspector general report", "Justice Department watchdog debunks Trump's claims about the Russia probe", "Report on F.B.I. Barr denied that he was carrying out the president's agenda on this case, stating that he was "doing the law's bidding". "[79], In 1994, Barr became Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the telecommunications company GTE Corporation, where he served for 14 years. [310] On February 14, 2020, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed an ethics complaint against Barr with the Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of the Inspector General, accusing Barr of "violating several Justice Department rules, guidelines and procedures". Among other topics, Flynn discussed sanctions imposed on Russia by the Obama administration for Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. [53], In October 1992, Barr appointed then retired New Jersey federal judge Frederick B. Lacey to investigate the Department of Justice and the Central Intelligence Agency handling of the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) Iraqgate scandal. Barr replied that "people sometimes plead to things that turn out not to be crimes the Department of Justice is not persuaded that this was material to any legitimate counterintelligence investigation. ", "William Barr, a Catholic, went out of his way to use the death penalty (and defy church teaching)", "William Barr, nation's top lawyer, is a culture warrior Catholic", "New Trump-Russia subplot: Mueller and Barr are 'good friends', Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Barr&oldid=1161958354, George H. W. Bush administration cabinet members, United States Assistant Attorneys General for the Office of Legal Counsel, People of the Central Intelligence Agency, Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni, George Washington University Law School alumni, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from October 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with failed verification from May 2019, Wikipedia neutral point of view disputes from December 2020, All Wikipedia neutral point of view disputes, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0. [361], In July 2020, Barr condemned large American tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Apple,[362] and Hollywood studios, accusing them of "kowtowing" to the Chinese Communist Party for the sake of profits. Days after Barr's remarks, Trump was asked if he would commit to a peaceful transition of power if he lost the 2020 election, to which he replied, "Well, we'll have to see what happens. [35], Barr enjoyed a "sterling reputation" among Republican and Democratic politicians alike. Hearing . "[332][333] Since 2005, Webster had served as the chair of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Bush's Mixed Legacy In A Reagan-Era Scandal", "The Pardons; Bush Pardons 6 in Iran Affair, Aborting a Weinberger Trial; Prosecutor Assails 'Cover-Up', "Walsh Implies Bush Used Pardons to Avoid Testifying", "Proclamation 6518 Grant of Executive Clemency", "William P. Barr Oral History, Assistant Attorney General; Deputy Attorney General; Attorney General", "Bush Pardons 6 in Iran Affair, Aborting a Weinberger Trial; Prosecutor Assails 'Cover-Up', "Cover-up Attorney General Bill Barr strikes again", "William Barr Supported Pardons In An Earlier D.C. 'Witch Hunt': Iran-Contra", "The Lawyer Leading the Charge Against the FCC's Regulations", "Verizon General Counsel William P. Barr Announces Retirement", "Who is William Barr, Trump's pick to replace Sessions as AG? ", "Barr, Under Fire, Says He's Fighting for the Presidency, Not Trump", "William Barr to face tough Senate hearing on attorney general nomination", "FBI has been investigating the Clinton Foundation for months", "The red flags on Trump's new attorney general pick", "Former attorney general: Trump was right to fire Sally Yates", "As Mueller builds his Russia special-counsel team, every hire is under scrutiny", "Trump allies hit Mueller on relationship with Comey", "Barr sent or discussed controversial memo with Trump lawyers", "Barr authored memo last year ruling out obstruction of justice", "Trump's Attorney General Pick Criticized an Aspect of Mueller Probe in Memo to Justice Department", "Barr confirms he shared his Mueller memo with lots of people around Trump", "Rosenstein: AG nominee's memo had 'no impact' on Mueller probe", "Barr's legacy on the line as Mueller team fumes", "William Barr's donations to Senate Republicans spiked just before they confirmed him as attorney general", "Trump announces he'll nominate William Barr as next attorney general", "Senate confirms Trump pick William Barr as new attorney general", "Trump first wanted his attorney general pick William Barr for another job: Defense lawyer", "Here's What Trump's New Pick for Attorney General Has Said About the Mueller Investigation", "Trump Justice pick likely to be queried on Mueller comments", "How Every Senator Voted on Barr's Confirmation as Attorney General", "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress 1st Session", "Attorney General William Barr Swears Oath Of Office After Senate Confirmation", "William Barr is right man for the times", "In Barr, Trump has found his champion and advocate", "In Reversal, DOJ Now Says Whole ACA Unconstitutional", "US Justice Dept. [22][17][23], Barr has never prosecuted a case. [301], The Justice Department announced in May 2020 that the charges against Flynn would be dropped, with Jensen stating that Barr had agreed with his recommendation. [137] The OIG report stated that OIG "cannot assess whether" Barr's visit to the park or any planned movement by Trump "influenced the Secret Service's actions, including its early deployment on to H Street. [241] He also said he had no evidence of wrong-doing. Bash's 52-page report, previously classified top secret, was released in May 2022. [214][215] After the release of the full report, fact-checkers and news outlets characterized Barr's initial letter as a deliberate mischaracterization of the Mueller Report and its conclusions. [230], During May 1, 2019, testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barr stated he accepted Mueller's interpretation of the law that was applied in the Report. A Trump tweet followed: "Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!" The Bash investigation was quietly closed five months later, with no public announcement or report, reportedly finding nothing improper. Barr equated the movement with antifa, characterizing that loose collective as "highly organized" and claiming "the media doesn't take footage of what's happening" at George Floyd protests. "[153] In an August 2020 appearance on Fox News, Barr asserted that Black Lives Matter is "a revolutionary group that is interested in some form of socialism, communism. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: When Bill Barr arrived at the Justice Department early last year, many people there breathed a sigh of relief. Jackson concluded that Barr had been "disingenuous" to Congress in 2019, and that the Department of Justice had been "disingenuous to this court" regarding their "decision-making process". [2], Upon leaving the DOJ in 1993, Barr was appointed by Virginia Governor George Allen to co-chair a commission to implement tougher criminal justice policies and abolish parole in the state. Their tactics are fascistic." [43][44][45] He was described as affable with a dry, self-deprecating wit. [80][81] In 2000, when GTE merged with Bell Atlantic to become Verizon Communications, Barr became the general counsel and executive vice president of Verizon until he retired in 2008. [163] The DHS report did not mention antifa. [43], Barr is the brother of Stephen Barr, a physics professor at the University of Delaware. Initially, four career prosecutors had recommended that Stone serve a jail term of between seven and nine years. George Floyd protests in Washington, D.C. United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, aggressive effort to overturn the results, Foreign interference in the 2020 United States elections, Conspiracy theories related to the TrumpUkraine scandal, Russia investigation origins counter-narrative, Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, conspiracy theories about the origins of the Russia investigation, House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, FBI investigation into Donald Trump's handling of presidential documents, its investigation into the handling of presidential documents by Trump, 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, Justice Department's National Security Division, Russian interference in the 2020 United States elections, Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (JanuaryJune 2018), Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (2019), Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (20202021), "Trump Says He Alone Can Do It. [143][144] Senior American intelligence officials have said there was no evidence any foreign powers intended to manipulate mail-in voting. It was all bullshit." WASHINGTON (AP) Attorney General William Barr, one of President Donald Trump's staunchest allies, is departing amid lingering tension over the president's baseless claims of election fraud and the investigation into President-elect Joe Biden's son. It's a secular religion. In defense of the firing, Barr allegedly made numerous false claims about Atkinson's actions during his tenure. Per policy regarding American persons, Flynn's identity was masked before accounts of his conversations were distributed to high-level Obama administration officials. ", "Mueller expressed misgivings to Barr about 4-page letter", "The evolution of the obstruction of justice dispute between Barr and Mueller", "Mueller Report Will Be Released Thursday, Justice Dept. Barr declined to intervene in the Firtash case. Flynn later attempted to withdraw his guilty plea, and had not been sentenced yet. [159] In an August 2020 interview, Trump claimed that a plane full of "thugs in dark uniforms", implying antifa, had recently flown from one unidentified city to another with the intention of fomenting riots. "[262] The Washington Post reported on November 22, 2019, that the Justice Department inspector general had aggressively investigated the allegation that Mifsud had been directed to entrap Papadopoulos, but found it was without merit. Trump reportedly was angered by a recent Fox News poll showing a majority of Americans supported his impeachment and removal from office, as well as analysis of the scandal by Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano, a previous Trump ally who had argued the president should be impeached. watchdog finds political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI's Russia probe but documents errors", "Barr disputes key inspector general finding about FBI's Russia investigation", "Barr's handpicked prosecutor tells inspector general he can't back right-wing theory that Russia case was U.S. intelligence setup", "Justice Dept. [210], Mueller's March 27 letter prompted Barr to call Mueller on March 28. William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump . [160][161] Two days later, Barr asserted he knew that antifa activists "are flying around the country" and "we are following them". It did not reflect the views of the department. There was no such indictment, and the matter actually involved a series of errors by election officials during a county election, rather than fraud. "[212][213] On April 10, Attorney General Barr appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee. [312] If the District of Columbia Bar concludes that a lawyer has violated any of its Rules of Professional Conduct, that lawyer may be sanctioned in one of several ways, including admonition, suspension, and disbarment. Graham had learned from Barr that "they've created a process that Rudy could give information and they would see if it's verified." "[148], In mid-June 2020, Barr announced that Geoffrey Berman, the court-appointed United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), "is stepping down". He then served as a law clerk to judge Malcolm Richard Wilkey of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
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