'Deposed king ranting': Trump deserted by key ally in his final weeks
Attorney General William Barr, one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies, has tendered his resignation.
The departure of one of Trump’s most powerful backers comes amid tensions over the president’s ongoing attacks on the 2020 election and the refusal of the Department of Justice to go along with them.
The Trump administration is well known for its high turnover of staff (the president had five press secretaries in four years) but the exit of Bill Barr is one of the most notable during his tumultuous tenure.
Trump was unusually amicable, tweeting: “Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!”
Barr, however, has reportedly been less flattering of the president’s behaviour, sources told CNN.
Trump has publicly toyed with the idea of firing Barr for contradicting his election claims and expressed anger that he did not make an investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes public, despite department policy against such a pronouncement.
A source close to Barr told CNN the relationship between the pair had become a “Cold War” in recent days but Barr was not intimidated by the president admonishing him on Twitter.
“Barr cannot be intimidated by Trump. This is the real story. None of this matters – it's the deposed king ranting. Irrelevant to the course of justice and to Trump's election loss,” the source told CNN.
...Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all! pic.twitter.com/V5sqOJT9PM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2020
Barr highlights election integrity in resignation letter
In his letter of resignation, shared by the president, Barr spoke of the importance of the public understanding the integrity of the election.
“At a time when the country is so deeply divided, it is incumbent on all levels of government, and all agencies acting within their purview, to do all we can to assure the integrity of elections and promote public confidence in their outcomes,” he wrote.
Barr’s resignation leaves Trump without a critical ally as he winds down his final weeks in office.
He was an ardent backer of the president and will be remembered for his participation in the heavy-handed removal of demonstrators outside the White House to enable Trump to have a much criticised photo-op.
Another high-profile moment for Barr was his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report into potential Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Before releasing the lengthy report, Barr framed the results in a manner favourable to Trump even though Mueller pointedly said he couldn’t exonerate the president of obstruction of justice.
His departure also throws into question open Justice Department investigations, especially the probe into Hunter Biden’s taxes.
In his resignation letter, Barr said he updated Trump on Monday on the department’s “review of voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election and how these allegations will continue to be pursued”.
Critics slam outgoing Barr for politicising Justice Department
Democrats who had long criticised Barr did not lament his departure.
“Good riddance,” tweeted House intelligence committee chairman and Californian Democrat Adam Schiff, who said the attorney general had “lied to cover for Trump, launched political investigations, subverted justice and the rule of law and violently cracked down on protestors”.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York, who led an investigation of politicisation of the department, said that “whomever Joe Biden chooses as the new Attorney General will have a tremendous amount of work to do to repair the integrity of the Department of Justice”.
with AP
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