Manchin knocks Barr: He should be focused on protecting the Constitution

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), one of three Democrats who voted to confirm William Barr, said on Sunday that he is concerned by the attorney general’s actions. 

“It really gives me pause and concern that he’s the people’s attorney,” Manchin said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“He should be looking out to … protect the Constitution and all of us who are protected by that Constitution,” he added.  

{mosads}Manchin said he thinks special counsel Robert Mueller “was beyond reproach,” adding, “I think we all felt that he was extremely capable, honorable and did a great job.” 

Mueller in his first public comments last week on the Russia investigation did not say explicitly that he would have accused President Trump of a crime had it not been for Department of Justice (DOJ) policy, but he reiterated that his investigation did not exonerate Trump.

“If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so,” Mueller said.

Some analysts have pointed to Barr’s earlier statements as downplaying the role of the Department of Justice guidelines in Mueller’s calculus.

Manchin on Sunday also said that with a little over 17 months to the next election, “very little” would get done if impeachment proceedings against Trump began. 

Manchin said that with no support for impeachment from Senate Republicans, “why waste your time?” 

Manchin and Sens. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) voted to confirm Barr.