William Barr leaves his mark as a defender of justice in this nation

Attorney General William Barr will be “leaving to spend the holidays with his family.” In Washington, that is code for “forced departure.” He did not suddenly decide to leave three weeks early to spend more time with his family. Indeed, since his kids live in the area, it was about as difficult for him to spend time with family as going home.

I testified at his Senate confirmation. I have known him for decades and represented him, and other former attorneys general, with the Clinton impeachment litigation. In the hearing, Richard Blumenthal asked me why President Trump wanted Barr, suggesting a stooge was being placed as head of the Justice Department. I responded, “I do not know what the president thought he was getting with Barr, but I know what he is getting. He is going to get someone who identifies incredibly closely with the department, and I think he will be a vigorous defender of it.”

It is clear now that Trump may have thought he was getting someone else but that Barr proved to be precisely the attorney general I hoped he would be. Though I disagree with some of his decisions, he has been a staunch defender of justice in conflicts with the White House. For weeks, Trump has slammed Barr for not finding systemic voter fraud, and then for not disclosing the investigation of Hunter Biden before the election.

In an interview before Barr resigned, Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade asked Trump about his anger at Barr for not disclosing that investigation. Kilmeade sad, “Jonathan Turley said he had no choice and it would have been like James Comey again.” Trump said he was “very disappointed” in Barr. That is when I knew Barr was done. At the start of his administration, Trump said he was “very disappointed” that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. That decision was forced by ethical rules and the view of most legal experts. Yet Sessions was later sent away to spend more time with his family.

Trump insisted that special counsel Robert Mueller went public to correct the record after a false story about the Russia investigation that Trump had ordered his attorney to lie to Congress, for which Michael Cohen was prosecuted. Mueller and his team refuted the story after Democrats and legal experts cited it to demand impeachment. But unlike the Hunter Biden investigation, the special counsel investigation was public. The story also concerned the Cohen case, which was closed with his plea.

But Trump did not demand that Barr act like Mueller. He demanded that Barr act more like James Comey, and that Barr repeat the same act the president denounced as a basis to fire the former director. The Justice Department bars public disclosures of ongoing investigations. Not only can such disclosures undermine investigations, but they are also unfair to subjects or targets who have not been charged. The Justice Department also has a policy not to make disclosures or file indictments shortly before an election. Barr was faced with the choice of doing the right thing and the convenient thing. He chose exactly as I believed he would.

Even if Barr had acted unethically, it would not have achieved what Trump wanted. If Barr revealed an investigation involving Hunter Biden before the election, the Biden campaign would have just noted that he was not charged with any crime and would work with investigators. Unless Barr had dished out untried allegations and raw evidence, it would not have changed the political dynamic. Some of us wrote about how information, including a federal subpoena, had indicated that Hunter Biden was under investigation. The media refused to cover that evidence and would have protected Joe Biden before the election. Indeed, the mere disclosure of an investigation does not establish the basis of a crime.

With Barr sent away for “family time” and taken over by Jeffrey Rosen, Trump will set a record of six attorneys general, acting or confirmed, in four years. It is the same number that George Bush had in his eight years in office. The departure will end one of the most adverse terms of any attorney general in history. But the attacks from Trump on Barr pale in comparison to the attacks from the media. Trump forced Barr to decide between ethics and politics, while the media falsely accused Barr of wrongful actions and then refused to correct those stories.

The media reported that Barr ordered Lafayette Park cleared of peaceful protesters to enable Trump to take a picture in front of nearby Saint John Church. The evidence directly contradicts those claims. I testified before Congress on the incident and cited that the decision was made the prior weekend, after violence erupted around the White House. Barr was not aware of the idea to take a picture at the time when he approved the decision to clear the area. Yet the false story was widely covered.

Barr never seems to care much about such attacks. Those of us who know him are far more bothered by the criticism than he is. I had lunch with him two days before his resignation was announced, but he remained resolute and content despite barbs from all sides. Barr has proven immovable in the path of irresistible forces. Whether it is the president or the media, he is formidable because he knows who he is. He has a sense of his own true north and does not break from that line of sight. Barr will have his family time. That is great for his family, but not so great for the nation.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can find his updates online @JonathanTurley.