President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general William Barr told senators during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that he stands behind the President’s call for new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, while standing aside from Trump’s public positions on the Russia investigation, Fox News informed.
The hearing was completed Tuesday evening with few fireworks and Barr appeared likely to sail to confirmation in the Republican-controlled Senate. Even so, some Democrats sounded the alarm, with Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal charging that Barr had indicated he would exploit legal “loopholes” to conceal Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report from the public and to resist subpoenas against the White House.
“I will commit to providing as much information as I can, consistent with the regulations,” Barr had told Blumenthal, when asked if he would ensure that Mueller’s full report was publicly released.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who heads the Judiciary Committee, said afterwards that he was satisfied that Barr was the “right man for the job.” He also stated that Democrats had asked appropriate questions – in stark contrast to what he called the “sham” that occurred during the confirmation hearings of now-Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“I voted for Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch — not because I agreed with their political philosophy or policy positions — but because I thought they were qualified,” Graham said in a statement Tuesday evening, referring to the two Obama-appointed attorneys general. “I’m asking no more of Democrats than I asked of myself. I am hopeful Democrats will support this fine man.”
Barr faced an array of questions on topics ranging from criminal justice to immigration. When asked about the ongoing partial federal government shutdown, Barr said, “I would like to see a deal reached whereby Congress recongizes that it’s imperative to have border security, and part of border security, as a common sense matter, involves barriers.”
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