Attorney General William Barr has told people close to him that he’s considering resigning from his role at the Department of Justice because of President Donald Trump’s decision to continue tweeting about department matters which he says undermine his role.
Trump defended his decision on Tuesday to continue tweeting about DOJ matters while talking to reporters before boarding Air Force One.
“Everybody has the right to speak their mind. And I use social media,” Trump said. “But I think he’s doing an excellent job. He’s a strong guy. I never spoke to him about the Roger Stone situation. Roger Stone, just so you know, never worked — he didn’t work for my campaign.”
“He’s a very straight shooter. We have a great Attorney General, and he’s working very hard. And he’s working against a lot of people that don’t want to see good things happen, in my opinion,” Trump continued. “But I will say this: Social media, for me, has been very important because it gives me a voice, because I don’t get that voice in the press. In the media, I don’t get that voice. So I’m allowed to have a voice.”
The Washington Post reported:
The administration officials said Barr seemed to be sharing his position with advisers in hopes the president would get the message that he should stop weighing in publicly on the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal investigations.
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Barr had a previously scheduled lunch with the White House counsel Tuesday and was still the attorney general by day’s end — indicating that the president’s moves that day were not enough to push him to resign.
Barr told ABC News last week that Trump’s tweets were very “disruptive” to the department, saying, “I think the essential role of the Attorney General is to keep law enforcement, the criminal process sacrosanct to make sure there is no political interference in it.”
“And I’m happy to say that, in fact the president has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case,” Barr continued. “However, to have public statements and tweets made about the department, about our people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending in the department, and about judges before whom we have cases, make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and ”
I am responsible for everything that happens in the department, but the thing I have most responsibility for are the issues that are brought to me for decision,” Barr added. “And I will make those decisions based on what I think is the right thing to do and I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody. And I said, whether it’s Congress, newspaper editorial boards, or the president. I’m going to do what I think is right. And, you know, the, I think the — I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.”
The Post further noted that Barr had privately told Trump weeks before his interview on ABC News that he wanted Trump to ramp down tweeting about the department.
This report has been updated to include additional information.