1 year ago
94 U.S. Attorney General William Barr, December 10, 2019.
Mark Wilson | Getty Images
Former Attorney General William Barr said Wednesday helium thinks the Department of Justice is "getting precise close" to having the grounds to indict Donald Trump — but hopes the bureau declines to complaint the ex-president.
Barr, who served nether Trump, again criticized a judge's bid authorizing a alleged peculiar master to reappraisal the thousands of documents that the FBI seized past period successful a raid of Trump's Florida location Mar-a-Lago.
Barr said that 2 large issues successful the lawsuit implicit these materials — galore of which bore classification markings — are whether the DOJ tin marque a lawsuit to complaint Trump, and whether it should.
"Will the authorities beryllium capable to marque retired a method case, volition they person grounds by which — that they could indict idiosyncratic on, including him?" Barr said successful a Fox News interview, his 3rd quality connected the web successful 5 days.
"That's the archetypal question, and I deliberation they're getting precise adjacent to that point, frankly," said Barr, who led the Justice Department from aboriginal 2019 until the last months of the Trump administration.
"But I deliberation astatine the extremity of the day, there's different question, [which] is bash you indict a erstwhile president? What volition that bash to the country, what benignant of precedent volition that set, volition the radical truly recognize that this is not, you know, failing to instrumentality a room book, that this was serious," Barr said.
"And truthful you person to interest astir those things, and I anticipation that those kinds of factors volition incline the medication not to indict him, due to the fact that I don't privation to spot him indicted arsenic a erstwhile president," Barr said.
"But I besides deliberation they'll beryllium nether a batch of unit to indict him, due to the fact that — 1 question is, look, if anyone other would person gotten indicted, wherefore not indict him?" helium added.
Barr besides said helium hopes the DOJ appeals the ruling from national Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee. Cannon authorized the assignment of a peculiar master to reappraisal seized materials for idiosyncratic items and records that are protected by enforcement privilege.
The ruling, which Trump's lawyers sought, temporarily blocks the DOJ from reviewing oregon utilizing the materials it took from Mar-a-Lago successful the Aug. 8 raid.
"The occupation I person with the peculiar maestro is what she's done connected what's called enforcement privilege documents. And she didn't code the lone question that's successful dispute, which is, tin the erstwhile president person lasting to accidental that the investigators don't adjacent get to look astatine the classified documents that helium wrongfully had astatine Mar-a-Lago," helium said.
"She dodges it, and past she says she's bringing successful a peculiar maestro to look astatine whether worldly is enforcement privilege oregon not. That's not what the quality is," Barr said. "I anticipation it's appealed."
A time earlier connected Fox, Barr called Cannon's ruling "deeply flawed successful a fig of ways." But helium said it doesn't alteration "the cardinal dynamics of the case," which are that "documents were taken, classified accusation was taken and not handled appropriately, and they are looking into and determination is immoderate grounds to suggest that they were deceived."
Spokespeople for Trump and the DOJ did not instantly respond to CNBC's requests for comment.
In different Fox interrogation Friday, Barr said helium doubted Trump's claims that the documents taken from Mar-a-Lago were declassified, calling it "highly improbable."
But if Trump so "stood implicit scores of boxes, not truly knowing what was successful them and said, 'I hereby declassify everything successful here,' that would beryllium specified an maltreatment and that shows specified recklessness that it's astir worse than taking the documents," Barr said.
After that appearance, Trump slammed Barr successful 2 societal media posts, calling him "a anemic and pathetic RINO" who "started disconnected OK arsenic A.G., but faded fast."
Trump's posts attacked Barr for his handling of erstwhile peculiar counsel Robert Mueller's study connected Russian meddling successful the 2016 election, saying the DOJ should person released the contents of a laptop containing damaging accusation connected President Joe Biden's lad Hunter earlier the 2020 election.
Trump besides wrote that Barr "never fought the mode helium should person for Election Integrity," an evident notation to Barr's refusal to backmost Trump's mendacious claims that his 2020 nonaccomplishment to Biden was rigged done wide fraud.
Barr said successful his Tuesday quality connected Fox that to Trump, a RINO is "anyone who disagrees with him that the predetermination was stolen."
