Senate confirms William Barr as U.S. attorney general

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate confirmed William Barr as
attorney general on Thursday, installing a seasoned lawyer with
decades of Washington experience to head the Justice Department and
putting him in charge of overseeing Special Counsel Robert
Mueller’s long-running probe of whether President Donald Trump’s
2016 campaign colluded with Russia.

The Senate voted 54 to 45, largely along party lines. A Justice
Department spokeswoman said Barr will be sworn in at 4:45 PM ET in
the Oval Office of the White House by Chief Justice John
Roberts.

Many Democrats opposed Barr out of concern he might not make
Mueller’s findings fully public. But the Senate is controlled by
Trump’s fellow Republicans, so Barr’s confirmation was virtually
assured.

Previously attorney general from 1991 to 1993 under President
George H.W. Bush, Barr has won praise from lawmakers in both
parties for his expertise and grasp of the workings of the Justice
Department.

He would be the third man in barely two years to occupy that
post, replacing acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who
replaced Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Trump ousted Sessions last
November after criticizing him repeatedly.

Mueller is investigating meddling by Russia in the 2016 U.S.
presidential election and whether Moscow colluded with Trump’s
campaign to try to tilt the election in Trump’s favor, as well as
possible obstruction of justice.

Trump denies any collusion. The Kremlin denies any meddling.

Before being nominated, Barr wrote a 19-page legal memo, in
which he called Mueller’s probe “fatally flawed.” He shared it with
Trump’s legal team and Justice Department officials.

Barr has said he will not let himself be bullied by Trump and
will protect the integrity of Mueller’s investigation and make
public as many of its findings as he can.

Barr has not promised to release Mueller’s report in its
entirety. He has warned he may not be allowed to reveal the
identities of people who escape prosecution. That stance troubles
many Democrats, who say Barr’s expansive views of executive power
might lead him to suppress parts of the report.

Despite Democrats’ opposition, many were anxious to have Barr
installed quickly so he would replace Whitaker, whose tenure has
been fraught with controversy since Trump appointed him in
November.

Critics have alleged Whitaker’s appointment was unlawful.
Democrats fear Trump installed Whitaker to undermine Mueller’s
probe because Whitaker had criticized it when he was a conservative
pundit.

Barr is widely expected to back many of Trump’s tough
immigration policies. He will also be under the microscope for how
he implements a new law that eases prison sentences for non-violent
criminals, after he advocated for the opposite, tough-on-crime
approach for decades.