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Former Attorney General William Barr on Friday distanced himself from reports that the Trump Justice Department seized communications records belonging to two prominent Democratic lawmakers who were spearheading investigations into then-President Donald Trump.
In a phone interview, Barr said he didn’t recall getting briefed on the moves.
Barr’s comments came after The New York Times reported that in 2017 and 2018, the Justice Department seized the records of at least 12 people connected to the House Intelligence Committee, including its current chair. Barr became attorney general in 2019.
Barr also said that while he was attorney general, he was “not aware of any congressman’s records being sought in a leak case.” He added that Trump never encouraged him to zero in on the Democratic lawmakers who reportedly became targets of the former president's push to unmask leakers of classified information.
Trump "was not aware of who we were looking at in any of the cases,” Barr said. “I never discussed the leak cases with Trump. He didn’t really ask me any of the specifics.”
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice's internal watchdog will investigate the Trump-era seizure of communication records from some Democratic lawmakers and journalists, the agency announced Friday.
It joins a burgeoning effort in Congress to unearth more details about what happened in 2017 when the DOJ under President Donald Trump asked Apple to turn over communication metadata for at least two Democratic House members, their staff and family members. The investigation became public on Thursday in a report by The New York Times.
Separately on Friday, Democrats Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin threatened to subpoena former attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions to testify before Congress about the investigations.
Democrats on the House Intelligence have grown frustrated since learning last month their data was targeted and have been unable to get more information from the Department of Justice, according to a House official.
This story is so crazy. Donald Trump weaponized the Department of Justice to spy on his political enemies and their families. Even a minor (I believe one of Schiff's kids). This is madness.
And what's even more scary...imagine how many other unethical and likely illegal things Trump did in office? The only reason we found out about this DOJ investigation into journalists and democrats by Trump & Barr is because the gag order expired so the information could be released.
How many other incredibly unethical things did Trump do that just haven't been uncovered yet or are still stuck behind gag orders?
took only four post til "whataboutism" reared itself.
If its common practice to do something illegal, then I guess its okay eh?
Hardly.
Barr has shown himself time and again. Fork tongue and all.
Let him distance himself from american soil.
just exposing the hypocrisy and politics from Democrats. If it's something illegal why Democrats wants a hearing and not let the justice department handle this? I mean Democrats control the Justice Department but who are you kidding, justice? NAH , politics above all.
Clearly one of the worst abuses of executive power since J Edgar Hoover's shenanigans.
Thanks for the laugh, you Democrats take the comedy too far. I guess you were in a coma for 8 years under Obama.
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