Former Attorney General William Barr says former President Donald Trump is resorting to “extortion” to continue to exert influence over the Republican Party, and what to do with the FBI probe of Mar-a-Lago and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is still on the table. said he had not decided. Government recovery of hundreds of pages of classified documents.
and long interview published Thursday, Former New York Times Editor Barry Weiss In his previous words, Barr asked why more Republicans hadn’t simply come out, blaming Trump for failing to win the 2020 election through voter fraud. The claim states:Bullshit”
Of his former boss, Barr said, “The tactic Trump uses to control the Republican Party is extortion.” , I’m going to ruin your election chances by telling my base to stay home. he is all about himself.
Mr. Barr elaborated on what made Mr. Trump furious on Dec. 1, 2020. When he learned that his attorney general had interviewed him for the Associated Press, he told them there was no evidence of widespread election fraud. Trump blasted Barr in an interview. Barr offered to resign on the spot, but was reportedly persuaded by White House attorney Pat Cipollone to wait to announce his resignation.
Trump once had nothing but public praise for Barr, but since then he has criticized the former Attorney General, calling him RINO. ”
Weiss asked Barr, who also served as attorney general under President George H.W.
“I had underestimated how far he would take it. It was the stop of,” Burr said. “There was no process beyond allowing him to challenge the election. At that point I thought it was safe to leave. I was wrong. I didn’t expect him to accept it as he did in legal theory.”
Barr told Weiss that he feels he fell victim to conspiracy theories that Trump may have been a Russian agent during the 2016 presidential election. This week, the Justice Department released a full memo written for Barr, advising him not to indict Trump in connection with the 2016 election.
But Barr’s views on Trump’s behavior after the 2020 election are decidedly harsher. I didn’t hold back.
“I was disgusted and frustrated and very angry. I felt that all of this hurt the Republican Party and hurt the administration’s reputation more than ever. Everyone was angry about it, and I also felt that this was just a Keystone Cop exercise, and as far as I was concerned, there was no real threat of overthrowing the government.
The riot was “a shameful episode…and the president certainly caused it.”
Regarding the current legal conflict between Trump and both the Justice Department and the National Archives, Barr said the government said hundreds of pages of classified documents had been improperly stored. He said he is waiting to see what information emerges before making any final conclusions.Trump’s Florida estate.
“I think everyone is reaching premature conclusions because there are two important pieces of information that are needed: 1: What is the nature of highly classified information? To what extent? Second, what evidence, if any, is the positive vanity of the president or those around him in Mar-a-Lago to mislead the government?” Barr said. “Until you answer these two questions, justified or not. I think those taking a kneeling position on both sides should wait and see what the evidence is.”
A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Thursday showed that Republicans who said Trump was the front-runner in the 2024 presidential election saw Trump’s approval ratings drop after the poll was conducted. An increase of 7 points (54%). Of all Americans currently surveyed, if Trump “is found guilty of mishandling classified documents,” Trump “should be allowed to be president again in the future.” No.”
But despite all his misgivings about his former boss and what he witnessed firsthand at the end of his term, Burr still seemed reluctant to quit Trump altogether.
“In the 2024 election, if it’s Joe Biden vs. Trump, Kamala Harris vs. Trump, or Gavin Newsom vs. Trump, are you voting for Trump?” Weiss asked the former Attorney General.
“I would say yes now,” Burr said.
But when asked to evaluate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is the most capable of the Republican nominees for Trump, Barr made it clear that Trump is not his first choice for the Republican nomination.
“I don’t know much about Ron DeSantis, but I was impressed with his record in Florida. I stand by whoever is most likely to push Trump away,” Barr said.