ATTORNEY GENERAL/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Nearly 20 years before William Barr heralded the end of the special counsel’s probe of President Donald Trump, the attorney general laid out his complaints about special prosecutors: They have ‘no ultimate accountability,’ are unconstrained by resources and are often ‘driven to find something’ to justify themselves. The little noticed 2001 interview, part of a 55,000-word oral history organized by the University of Virginia, received only two brief mentions during Barr’s January confirmation hearings to be the country’s top law enforcement official. And while Robert Mueller has operated with more oversight from the attorney general than independent counsels of the past, Barr’s own words from nearly two decades ago shed light on how he approached his role overseeing the final months of the special counsel’s probe — and they are at the core of the controversy over his handling of the final report…Barr’s comments that seemed to vindicate the President sparked an immediate backlash in Washington and turned Barr into a political lightning rod.”
–Michael Warren, “Barr’s world view didn’t change when he became Trump’s top cop,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 30, 2019 8:06 pm