Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin said he is "worried about" attorney general nominee William Barr's independence regarding special counsel Robert Mueller's probe. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Congress Durbin: Senators need 'ironclad, rock-bottom assurances' on Mueller probe from AG nominee

Lawmakers need “ironclad, rock-bottom assurances” from attorney general nominee William Barr that he will fairly oversee special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Sunday.

“I’m worried about it,” Durbin told host George Stephanopoulos during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”


“I mean, clearly he’s a good lawyer, no question, but when it comes to this delicate political situation — the power of the presidency, whether this investigation is warranted — Bill Barr had better give us some ironclad, rock-bottom assurances in terms of his independence and his willingness to step back and let Mueller finish his job,” Durbin said.

Barr, who previously served as head of the Justice Department under President George H.W. Bush, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and Wednesday for his confirmation hearings.

Democratic lawmakers on that panel are expected to ask the nominee about a memorandum he wrote to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last year criticizing Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

In the memo, Barr said Mueller’s inquiry into possible obstruction of justice by the president was “fatally misconceived.”

Trump nominated Barr in December following the departure of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In the interim, Matthew Whitaker, Sessions’ former chief of staff, has served as acting attorney general.