William Barr
William P. Barr is the former Attorney General under President George H.W. Bush.
Establishment/liberal ties
Barr donated $55,000 to establishment candidate Jeb Bush in the 2016 presidential election,[1] but after Trump became the nominee, Barr donated only $2,700.[2] He was on the board of Time Warner, the parent company of CNN, between 2009 and 2018,[3] and he thus supported its merger with AT&T when conservatives and the Trump Administration opposed it.[4]
When President Trump nominated Barr to be his attorney general, some liberals praised Barr, calling him "mainstream conservative" and "less ideologically extreme" than the conservative Jeff Sessions.[5] Sen. Patrick Leahy, who was forced to resign from the Senate Intelligence Committee for leaking information related to the Mena/Contra operation in 1987, was an enthusiastic supporter. Bush DOJ official Stuart Gerson called Barr and Bob Mueller "folks of the establishment."[6]
Conservative actions
When he was Attorney General in the Bush Administration, Barr took actions to crack down on illegal immigration.[7][8][9] However, it should be noted that the Administration was trying to fend off Pat Buchanan's primary challenge at the time, and his actions happened at a time when even liberal Democrats claimed to support tough border security. However, Barr opposed building border barriers across the entire border with Mexico.[10]
George H.W. Bush administration
Prior to his appointment as Attorney General, Barr served as Chief Counsel for the CIA airline Southern Air Transport during Iran Contra.[11] Robert Mueller served as Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division during Barr's tenure.
References
- ↑ Farivar, Masood (December 7, 2018). Trump's Justice Department Pick Has Criticized Special Counsel Probes. Voice of America. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/trump-has-blasted-muellers-team-for-political-donations-but-attorney-general-nominee-william-barr-has-given-more-than-500000/2018/12/11/dce5974a-fcb0-11e8-862a-b6a6f3ce8199_story.html
- ↑ Vazquez, Maegan; Collins, Kaitlan (December 7, 2018). Trump nominates William Barr to be his next attorney general. CNN. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ↑ Kim, Ellis (December 7, 2018). 4 Things to Know About William Barr, Trump's Pick to Replace Jeff Sessions. The National Law Journal. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/arimelber/status/1071058049769660417
- ↑ Ballhaus, Rebecca; Gurman, Sadie; Viswanatha, Aruna (December 7, 2018). Trump Taps William Barr to Be Next Attorney General. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ↑ Binder, John (December 7, 2018). William Barr Prioritized Illegal Immigration Crackdown in 1990s–Similar to Sessions. Breitbart News. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ↑ Arthur, Andrew R. (December 11, 2018). The Once (and Future?) AG William Barr on Immigration. Center for Immigration Studies. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- ↑ Donachie, Robert (December 12, 2018). William Barr, Trump's pick as attorney general, is an immigration hardliner. Washington Examiner. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- ↑ Trump’s pick for AG once questioned value of border wall. Politico (from the Associated Press). December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ↑ Terry Reed & John Cummings, Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the CIA, Shapolsky Publishers, 1994
External links
- William P. Barr Oral History, GEORGE H. W. BUSH PRESIDENCY, Miller Center.