Attorney General nominee William Barr

By Glynn Wilson –

President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for attorney general, William Barr, is expected to sail through the confirmation process in the majority-Republican United States Senate in the next few days, although some key Democrats will vote against him on substantive grounds, worried that he may limit the scope of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election or may not release the full report to Congress and the public once it is complete.

Barr has also taken the position that presidents can’t be indicted while in office, a standing protocol in the Department of Justice that some critics think goes against the long-held American value that “no one is above the law.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines on Thursday to advance Barr’s nomination to the full Senate, where a vote is expected next week.

The committee’s ranking member, Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, called a memo in which Barr was critical of Mueller’s probe “disqualifying” and said she’s worried that he has not committed to releasing Mueller’s full report to Congress or the American public. Along with Democrats Dick Durbin of Illinois and and Chris Coons of Delaware, who oppose Barr’s confirmation, Feinstein also raised concerns about Barr’s reluctance to clearly categorize waterboarding as torture.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina urged his colleagues to confirm Barr, so he could take over from acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker, who was appointed by President Trump when Jeff Sessions of Alabama was ousted in November.

“We need a new attorney general,” Graham said on Wednesday. “I appreciate what Mr. Whitaker has done, but I think the time has come for new leadership at the department.”

Doug Jones, the lone Democrat in the Senate from Alabama who is not on the Judiciary Committee, announced that he will vote to confirm Barr’s nomination in a conference call with reporters on Thursday after he personally met with the nominee.

“After thorough consideration, I have concluded that Mr. Barr is qualified for the position of attorney general and his record strongly suggests he will exercise independent judgment and uphold the best interests of the Department of Justice. Should the Judiciary Committee move forward with his nomination, I will vote to confirm Mr. Barr as Attorney General of the United States,” Senator Jones said in a statement issued just minutes before the committee voted to confirm Barr.

Senator Jones said he’s spent the past couple of months examining Mr. Barr’s record and he watched the Judiciary Committee hearings last month. He’s listened to and considered the concerns of constituents and leaders in the justice community and spoken personally with Mr. Barr and “asked him some tough questions of my own,” Jones said.

“As a former U.S. Attorney, I believe the most important responsibility of an Attorney General is to uphold the rule of law and to do so with a commitment to transparency. While we often talk about the rights and freedoms guaranteed to us under the United States Constitution, the rule of law is what ensures those rights and freedoms are protected,” Jones said. “We live in deeply divided times, but it is in precisely this kind of environment that this principle is so important. In addition, I believe that Mr. Barr shares my commitment to the institutional independence of the Department of Justice and that he will bring stabilizing leadership that is badly needed.”

Many critics have expressed concerns about Barr’s views of executive power, Jones acknowledged, and he said Barr’s views are “frankly are much more expansive than my own.” He recognized concerns that Barr might place the Special Counsel’s investigation in jeopardy or refuse to release it publicly.

“However, during his confirmation hearing last month, Mr. Barr said that nothing could be more destructive to the rule of law than tolerating political interference in applying the law. Mr. Barr said that the rule of law is what enables us to ensure that justice is not arbitrary; that laws must be universally applied, including to our highest officials,” Jones said. “In my own conversation with Mr. Barr, he reiterated that no one, including the President of the United States, is above the law. He assured me that he would tolerate no level of interference with the investigation and reaffirmed unequivocally his commitment to the Justice Department’s independence.”

Senator Jones said he fully supports making the Special Counsel’s report available to the public and went so far as to say he would support legislation to make sure that happens. But he said Barr’s position is grounded in current Justice Department policy and it would be inappropriate for any attorney general nominee to commit to releasing a report in its entirety without knowing its contents, “especially when portions of it may contain sensitive intelligence and national security issues.”

“That said, Mr. Barr has stated unequivocally to both the Judiciary Committee and to me that he believes there is a strong public interest in being as transparent as possible with the results of the Special Counsel’s investigation, and I take him at his word,” Jones said. “If Mr. Barr is confirmed, I look forward to working with him and with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation continues unimpeded and that the rule of law is consistently upheld.”

In their meeting, Senator Jones said he questioned Barr on the importance of the Justice Department’s civil rights function, which he said is important to him and the people of Alabama.

“In response to my concerns, Mr. Barr assured me of his commitment to protecting civil rights, including the vigorous enforcement of voting rights protections,” Jones said.

When confirmed, Barr will assume oversight of the special counsel’s investigation, which is looking into collusion between Trump campaign associates and the Russians in the 2016 election, as well as possible charges of obstruction of justice and campaign finance violations against the president himself.

Barr, who led the Justice Department for a little over a year under President George H. W. Bush in the early 1990s, wrote a memo to deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein last year making the argument that President Trump should not be forced to submit to questioning by the special counsel because “Mueller’s obstruction theory is fatally misconceived” and based “on a novel and insupportable reading of the law.”

During his confirmation hearing in January, he assured senators of his independence and said he would not be bullied by anyone into doing something he believes is wrong if he takes the helm of the Justice Department. Barr, however, did suggest he may not release Mueller’s final report to the public because of an agency guideline. Democrats and many Republicans have said they believe Mueller’s final report should be fully released.

Barr also said he agreed with longstanding Justice Department protocol that says presidents can’t be indicted while in office, potentially eliminating one of the methods available to the American public to remove Trump from power if the report deems him to be corrupt. If that position stands, the only recourse to remove Trump from power would be forced resignation, impeachment by Congress with a trial in the Senate — or to prevent his reelection by defeating him the 2020 election.