This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, William Barr, criticized an aspect of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation in an unsolicited memo he sent to the justice department.

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The document was sent in June and expresses concern with Mueller’s investigation into whether the president obstructed justice, which Trump denies. It could factor into Barr’s Senate confirmation hearings and prompt questions about whether he can be unbiased in overseeing the investigation.

Barr’s memo argues there would be disastrous consequences for the justice department and the presidency if Mueller were to conclude that acts that a president is legally permitted to take could constitute obstruction just because someone concluded there was corrupt intent.

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The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the memo.

On Thursday the top Democrat in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, called on Trump to find a new nominee for attorney general, saying the White House’s current pick cannot be put in charge of the special investigation into alleged election meddling by Russia, which comes under the Department of Justice umbrella.

“Since Mr Barr hasn’t been formally nominated yet, the president must immediately reconsider and find another nominee who is free of conflicts and will carry out the duties of the office impartially,” Schumer said.

Trump announced that Barr would be his pick for attorney general after he fired the previous incumbent, Jeff Sessions, immediately after the midterm elections in November, after months of heaping opprobrium on Sessions’s head for recusing himself in 2017 from overseeing the Russia investigation.

If confirmed by the Senate, Barr – who held the same role under the late George HW Bush from 1991 to 1993 – will take over from Matthew Whitaker, who has served in an acting capacity since Sessions was forced out a month ago.

Barr would lead the justice department and oversee Mueller’s investigation.

Barr also defended Trump’s decision to fire the FBI director, James Comey, in May 2017, which led to Mueller’s appointment. “Comey’s removal simply has no relevance to the integrity of the Russian investigation as it moves ahead,” Barr wrote in the Washington Post.

