AG Nominee Barr Prepares For Tuesday's Confirmation Hearing
WHITFIELD: U.S. Attorney General nominee William Barr could face a contentious confirmation hearing when he goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Democrats are almost certain to focus on criticisms. President Trump's pick made about the Mueller probe in a memo written last summer. In that memo, Barr called Mueller's obstruction inquiry into the President "fatally misconceived". Let's bring in former Federal Prosecutor Shan Wu. So, Shan, you know, what are some of the biggest obstacles that Barr faces heading into this confirmation hearing?</s>SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, the biggest obstacle is the memo that you mentioned. I mean, it's a very bizarre situation that he unsolicited put forth this memo, basically putting a legal defense forward for the President saying that it's impossible to charge him with obstruction that the special counsel should not be interrogating him. And, you know, that's really -- he's a proponent of that unitary executive theory that the President is the complete boss and absolutely cannot be charged. He can't be found to have committed a crime. So, really, he's saying hands off to the President. So I think he's going to undergo a lot of questioning on that.</s>WHITFIELD: Yes. And that memo was unsolicited yet at the same time there are folks who've looked at and said that was like an audition, you know, letter.</s>WU: Right, exactly.</s>WHITFIELD: So, here's what Senate judiciary member Dick Durbin had to say about what he expects to hear from Barr.</s>SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Number one question on everyone's mind, will Bob Mueller be allowed to complete this investigation without political interference from the attorney general or President? I'm worried about it. I mean, clearly he's a good lawyer, no question. But when it comes to this delicate political situation, the power of the presidency, whether this investigation is warranted, Bill Barr had better give us some rock -- ironclad rock bottom assurances in terms of his independence and his willingness to step back and let Mueller finish his job.</s>WHITFIELD: So just last week Senator Grassley said, you know, he sat down with him, asked him the same kind of things. And he was assured that, you know, Barr would respect the special counsel's probe. But, you know, how much scrutiny will that memo and what he has said, you know, prior really kind of be an obstacle for him, potentially?</s>WU: Well, I think most likely, Fred, he's going to be confirmed. I mean, they're going to -- his supporters and he will really focus on the fact that he is a former attorney general already, so they'll say he's obviously qualified for the position. I think one of the problems that we face nowadays is that the whole idea of confirmation hearing has really de-evolved into a situation where it's just a game of gotcha. And the nominees, if they're all well prepared, will completely avoid being caught in anything. They will distance themselves from any aspects in their prior record that could -- they could be questioned on, and that's wrong. I mean, the point of a prior record is to get a sense of how this nominee will behave. And I think there are real questions about what Barr has already said to indicate that he would not be a good person to oversee this sensitive issue, which really goes to national security.</s>WHITFIELD: And so in light of the recent reporting from "The Washington Post" this weekend and "The New York Times" raising questions about the President's meetings with Vladimir Putin, you know, those meetings being undocumented and the FBI looking into, you know, whether the President, you know, was working in some fashion, unwittingly or otherwise, you know, with Russia. So, how do you suppose that might change or alter some of the questioning, you know, or some of the real focus of this upcoming hearing?</s>WU: I think that's a very rich area of explanation for him to be questioned on, particularly by the Democrats. One thing that's interesting is that when Barr was attorney general, that was a very different world, very different Department of Justice. Since that time, the department has a much greater responsibility on national security. And that's an area of potential weakness for him. I mean, he was not overseeing that kind of department. And because of what you're pointing out, which is that the Mueller probe originates in this counterintelligence probe, national security issues, he had some vulnerability there and he has to show that he's able to balance those issues in light of what he's already said about how he views the Mueller investigation.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Shan Wu, thank you so much.</s>WU: Good to see you, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: Good to see you as well. We'll be right back.