The Atlantic

Why Would Bill Barr Even Want to Be Attorney General?

The veteran lawyer, who celebrates the rule of law and counts Robert Mueller as a friend, is a strange fit for Trump’s chief law-enforcement officer.
Source: Yuri Gripas / Reuters

When nominees for Cabinet jobs come before the Senate, the burning question is often how they would handle a particular policy matter. But in the case of Bill Barr, President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, that question was answered before the hearings began, when Barr said in prepared remarks that he believes Special Counsel Robert Mueller should be allowed to complete his work.

That meant the single biggest mystery looming over Tuesday’s hearing was less political than metaphysical: Why would Barr want the job? It’s been clear since at least the summer of 2017 that , liable

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