Trump pick for ‘top cop’ on hot seat: Is Mueller criticism disqualifying?
Washington is gearing up for what looks to become the most contentious confirmation hearing since last year’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, former Attorney General William Barr will begin two days of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee to examine his fitness to serve in the Trump administration as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.
What makes the nomination especially controversial is that as attorney general, Mr. Barr would have the authority to assume full supervision of the ongoing Trump-Russia investigation. It would be within his power to limit or even end an investigation that President Trump has repeatedly denounced as a “witch hunt.”
The stakes have risen even higher in the wake of a recent New York Times report that the FBI launched a counterintelligence investigation in May 2017 to determine if Mr. Trump might be secretly working on behalf of Russia.
Such a move by the FBI is unprecedented in US history. Trump critics view it as signaling an out-of-control, possibly treasonous presidency. Trump supporters see it as evidence of an out-of-control, possibly treasonous FBI.
A controversial memoPast actions under scrutinyConservative interpretation of presidential power
