Attorney General nominee William P. Barr will promise senators Tuesday that if he is confirmed, he will allow special counsel Robert Mueller to finish his probe, now in its 20th month, into Russian election meddling.
In remarks released Monday that Mr. Barr is expected to deliver to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the prospective attorney general will also say Mr. Mueller is handling the probe properly, sounding a dissonant note with President Trump, who has repeatedly called the investigation a politically motivated witch hunt.
The testimony seemed designed to try to earn support from wary Democrats who view the Justice Department almost entirely through the lens of the Russia probe.
“The country needs a credible resolution of these issues,” Mr. Barr plans to say. “If confirmed, I will not permit partisan politics, personal interests, or any other improper consideration to interfere with this or any other investigation.”
He said he wants the public to know the results of the lengthy investigation.
Mr. Barr is seeking to return to the attorney general’s post he held under former President George H.W. Bush, when he was confirmed by voice vote.
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This time around he’s not likely to find that level of support, with some Democrats intent on voting against anyone Mr. Trump picks, and others worried in particular about a memo Mr. Barr wrote last year criticizing a legal argument the Mueller team was making.
The 19-page document said the special counsel’s focus on whether Mr. Trump sought to obstruct justice by firing FBI Director James B. Comey in 2017 was “fatally misconceived.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Barr will say the memo was looking at a “specific obstruction of justice theory” and doesn’t undermine Mr. Mueller’s overall work. He says the memo did not argue that a president can never obstruct justice.
Sen. Chris Coons, Delaware Democrat and a member of the Judiciary Committee, said Monday that sending the memo was an unusual move.
Still, he said Mr. Barr’s prepared statement helped the nominee “significantly.”
“It sets a good tone and proactively answers a number of issues,” he said.
Mr. Coons said he hasn’t made up his mind on whether he will vote to confirm Mr. Barr, pointing to lingering questions about how the nominee would handle the Mueller probe.
Mr. Coons said he wants Mr. Barr to undergo an official ethics review to determine whether he should recuse himself from overseeing the Mueller probe. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself after admitting to campaign-season contacts with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. — something Mr. Sessions said was part of his Senate duties.
Mr. Sessions resigned his post in November under pressure from Mr. Trump, who remains furious over the Mueller probe and blames those who allowed it to be started or to continue.
Democrats will demand explicit promises that Mr. Barr won’t pull the plug on Mr. Mueller and will leave him with a free hand.
“That means no interference, no budgetary control, no stoppage,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat and ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, told reporters last week.
Mr. Barr will not only promise to let the probe play out but will also say Congress and the public should see the findings.
“My goal will be to provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law. I can assure you that, where judgments are to be made by me, I will make those judgments based solely on the law and will let no personal, political, or other improper interests influence my decision,” he will say.
The hearings run Tuesday and Wednesday with Mr. Barr’s testimony to be followed by witnesses supporting and opposing him. Included on the witness list are former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, a series of law professors and the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The list did not specify whether witnesses are testifying on behalf of or against Mr. Barr.
The 2018 memo is likely to occupy much of the hearing.
Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III said he has offered thoughts to nearly every attorney general who has followed him, and Mr. Barr’s memo was in that vein.
“There is nothing in that memo that should bother anyone because it was an accurate statement of the law,” he said
Others contend the memo raises concerns about Mr. Barr’s expansive views on presidential powers.
“The question is not whether he will interfere with the Mueller probe, but if Trump decides to terminate the investigation, will he oppose that,” said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame law professor who worked for Mr. Barr at the Justice Department.
Peter Shane, who teaches law at Ohio State University, said Mr. Barr will need to directly address his view that the president has the authority to fire Mr. Mueller.
“He’s not the only person to have that position, but it is a pretty far out position in understanding the scope of presidential power,” he said. “If I were Mr. Barr and I wanted to stay out of trouble, rather than pushing those theories aggressively, I would emphasize not what I think the president might be constitutionally entitled to do, but as his legal adviser what I think he should do.”
The hearing will play out before the same committee that last year hosted the nasty confirmation battle over Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
Mr. Coons told reporters there are some lingering tensions from the Kavanaugh hearing but did not say if it would affect Mr. Barr’s confirmation.
Republicans hold 53 Senate seats and need only muster a majority to confirm Mr. Barr.
Though a couple of Republicans raised concerns after Mr. Trump nominated Mr. Barr, none have yet said they will oppose him.
“I think he’ll be confirmed because I’ll be surprised if any Republicans vote against him,” Mr. Gurule said. “I think most, if not all of the Democrats, will vote against him. It’s going to be a heavily divided vote.”
He said that division could wound Mr. Barr’s effectiveness.
“If the public or a large percentage of the public think his decisions are being politically motivated, that really undermines the public’s conference in the justice system,” Mr. Gurule said.
Mr. Meese, though, doubted Senate criticism will have a lasting effect.
“He’s been through this before. He knows the job and the hearing won’t have an impact on public confidence,” he said.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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