William Barr defends Robert Mueller and says he won’t be ‘bullied’ by Trump as next Attorney General

William Barr has told Congress that he would protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian election meddling from political pressure, despite his past criticism of the inquiry.

Donald Trump’s nominee to become the next attorney general was grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday during his first day of confirmation hearings. He faced questions about his sweeping views on executive powers, prison sentencing, antitrust enforcement and other issues he would encounter as head of the Justice Department.

Mr Barr, who was attorney general under President George Bush in the 1990s, also faced questions about an unsolicited, 19-page memo he wrote last year that called Mr Mueller’s probe “fatally misconceived” for examining whether the president obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey in 2017.

“It does raise questions about your willingness to reach conclusions before knowing the facts, and whether you prejudge the Mueller investigation,” Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee’s top Democrat, said as the hearing began.

The nominee said his memo from last year did not question the legitimacy of the probe as a whole, but only expressed concerns that the special counsel might be improperly interpreting one aspect of the law.

“I think it was entirely proper,” Mr Barr said, saying it was not unusual for former Justice Department officials to share their views of legal matters. He said he had written a similar memo criticizing the department’s corruption case against Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, which ended in a mistrial in 2017.

"One of the reasons why I ultimately decided I would accept this position if offered is because I'm in a position where I can be independent," Mr Barr added later in the hearings. "I'm not going to do anything that I think is wrong. I will not be bullied into doing anything that I think is wrong by anybody, whether it be editorial boards, Congress or the president. I'm going to do what I think is right."

Mr Trump frequently criticizes the probe as a “witch hunt” and has denied any collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice. Meanwhile, Russia has denied US intelligence agencies’ findings that it interfered in the 2016 election.

“I don’t believe Mr. Mueller would be involved in a witch hunt,” Mr Barr said Tuesday.

Responding to a question from Democrat Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, Mr Barr said he would “not carry out” any order to fire Mr Mueller without cause.

Mr Mueller is due to submit his findings to the attorney general, prompting concern from some Democrats that the Trump administration will try to quash the report. Mr Barr vowed that he would make as much of special counsel’s findings public as legally possible.

He also said former Attorney General Jeff Sessions “did the right thing” by recusing himself from the Russia probe after it emerged that he had met with Russian officials while working with the Trump election campaign.

Mr Barr also addressed Mr Trump’s campaign promise of a border wall stretching the entirety of the US-Mexico border, suggesting the president could somehow allocate federal funding through means besides a spending bill, without having to ask for support from Congress.

Mr Barr’s two-day confirmation hearing is likely to be more contentious than in 1991, when he was approved in a unanimous vote to become the next attorney general.

However, his nomination is expected to win approval in the Senate, where he has broad support among Republicans who control the chamber. Mr Barr could also benefit from the fact that some Democrats view him as a better option the man who took over the job after Mr Trump forced out Mr Sessions last year, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.

Additional reporting by Reuters