Washington (CNN) Donald Trump's attorney general nominee Bill Barr's take on what constitutes obstruction of justice is under renewed scrutiny following an explosive BuzzFeed report that the President told his personal lawyer to lie to Congress.

BuzzFeed's report states Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie about a project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, citing "two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter."

Though the report comes after Barr's confirmation hearing, he was pressed on what constitutes obstruction of justice based on an unsolicited memo he wrote last year as a private citizen. In it, Barr concluded that Trump's publicly reported interactions with ex-FBI Director James Comey could not constitute obstruction of justice, and for special counsel Robert Mueller to pursue that theory would be "fatally misconceived."

Barr was asked by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, if he would consider it obstruction of justice if the President concealed evidence or "tried to coach somebody not to testimony or testify falsely."

Barr said "yes, under an obstruction statute, yes."

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