In offering Ukraine's president the help of Attorney General William Barr in investigating rival Joe Biden, President Donald Trump is once again inserting the nation's top law enforcement officer in a political fray. It's a role Barr has embraced since taking command of the Justice Department
1 / 3Trump Impeachment Attorney GeneralFILE - In this Sept. 9, 2019 file photo, President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Attorney General William Barr, right, as he takes the podium to present the Medal of Valor to six police officers for stopping a mass shooter in Dayton, Ohio, and Heroic Commendations to five civilians for their heroism during the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
Attorneys general traditionally strike a delicate political balance. As members of the Cabinet, they are expected to back a president's law enforcement agenda. Barr has done that — emphasizing some of the president's main talking points and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Trump in defending key policy decisions. But as the heads of the Justice Department, attorneys general are expected to be above politics and not let political considerations guide their actions.
In the call, Trump seemingly equates Barr with Giuliani, who has no role in the administration and, in rambling television appearances, is one of Trump's most vocal defenders. The Justice Department found no crime, and the matter is now closed. Those close to the attorney general argue there would have been no reason for him to recuse, or even consult ethics officials, because he was unaware of the president's conversation at the time it occurred and was not involved in any discussion of investigating Biden and his son Hunter.
The attorney general was generally aware of the whistleblower complaint after it was submitted to the Justice Department, weeks after the call, a person familiar with the matter said. But Barr was not involved in any of the legal analysis and did not make the decision that the president's actions did not amount to a crime.
Trump has repeatedly lauded Barr, a stark contrast from his relationship with his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions. He believed Sessions needlessly stepped aside from the Russia investigation, a decision that Trump blamed for the eventual appointment of Mueller.
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