Trump's AG nominee Barr says no one will 'bully' him

WASHINGTON -- Vowing "I will not be bullied," President Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general asserted independence from the White House on Tuesday, saying he believes Russia had tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, the special counsel investigation shadowing Trump is not a witch hunt and his predecessor was right to recuse himself from the probe.

The comments by William Barr at his Senate confirmation hearing pointedly departed from Trump's own views and underscored Barr's efforts to reassure Democrats he will not be a loyalist to a president who has appeared to demand it from law enforcement. He also repeatedly sought to assuage concerns he might disturb or upend special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation as it reaches its final stages.

Some Democrats are concerned about that very possibility, citing a memo Barr wrote to the Justice Department before his nomination in which he criticized Mueller's investigation for the way it was presumably looking into whether Trump had obstructed justice.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Barr the memo showed "a determined effort, I thought, to undermine Bob Mueller." The nominee told senators he was merely trying to warn Justice Department officials against "stretching a statute" to conclude the president had obstructed justice.

Barr stated without hesitation it was in the public interest for Mueller to finish his investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin to sway the election. He said he would not fire Mueller even if Trump asked him to do it and called it "unimaginable" Mueller would do anything to require his termination.

"I believe the Russians interfered or attempted to interfere with the election, and I think we have to get to the bottom of it," Barr said.

Positioning himself as independent from the president, he said, at 68 years old and partially retired, he felt emboldened to "do the right thing and not really care about the consequences."

"I will not be bullied into doing anything that I think is wrong by anybody, whether it be editorial boards or Congress or the president," Barr told the hearing.

Barr's confirmation is likely, given Republicans control the Senate. Even some Democrats have been looking to move on from acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who declined to remove himself from matters involving the Russia probe and has faced scrutiny over his private dealings.

But he nonetheless faced skeptical questions from Democrats over whether he could oversee without bias or interference the remainder of Mueller's probe.

Feinstein said the nominee's past rhetoric in support of expansive presidential powers "raises a number of serious questions about your views on executive authority and whether the president is, in fact, above the law."

Barr called Mueller a friend of 30 years and said he would not undermine his work. He said he would consult with ethics officials on whether he would need to recuse because of the memo but the decision would be ultimately his.

"I don't believe Mr. Mueller would be involved in a witch hunt," he said when asked by the panel's Republican chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

He also disclosed having discussed Mueller with Trump during a meeting in 2017 when Barr declined to join his legal team. Trump wanted to know what Mueller, who worked for Barr when he led the Justice Department between 1991 and 1993, was like.

"He was interested in that, wanted to know what I thought about Mueller's integrity and so forth and so on," Barr told senators. "I said Bob is a straight shooter and should be dealt with as such."

Barr also said "it is vitally important" Mueller be allowed to complete his investigation and that Congress and the public should learn the results. He insisted Trump never sought any promises, assurances or commitments before selecting him for the job and said he had never asked him to fire Mueller or interfere with the investigation.