William Barr: how the attorney general became Trump's enabler-in-chief
Barr’s brazen intervention in the case of the president’s crony Roger Stone is the latest grave disappointment to those who thought he might rein in his boss’s excesses
Lawyers who have filled political appointee positions in the Trump administration have been pursued by doubts about their qualifications or caliber.
In 2018, a justice department staffer was made acting attorney general, the department’s top job.
Last week, the president installed a young friend of his aide Stephen Miller atop a pyramid of 2,500 lawyers as general counsel in the Department of Homeland Security.
But there is one Trump appointee whose preparedness has never been questioned. William Barr, 69 and a veteran of 40 years in Washington, was confirmed one year ago as attorney general, a position with broad influence over the administration of justice and broad sway over public faith placed in it.
“Barr is particularly effective,” said Paul Rosenzweig, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute and veteran of the George W Bush administration, “because he’s one of the very few exceptions among Trump appointees – someone who is both qualified to do the job and has sufficient experience to know how to do it well.
“Sadly, he has decided to be an enabler.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/15/william-barr-attorney-general-donald-trump-enabler
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