UPDATE: While Barr claimed he never discussed the Russia probe in any significant way with the president, he does admit to having conversations about the investigation with Vice President Mike Pence.
Barr said in written responses to Senate questions made available Monday that he and Pence have had occasional conversations since the spring of 2017 on matters including policy and personnel. Some of those conversations included “general discussion of the Special Counsel’s investigation in which I gave my views on such matters as Bob Mueller’s high integrity and various media reports.”
“In these conversations, I did not provide legal advice, nor, to the best of my recollection, did he provide confidential information,” Barr told Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat.
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Barr described the Pence conversations in response to a question from Whitehouse about whether he had ever discussed Mueller’s investigation with anyone at the White House. He has also acknowledged that he discussed Mueller with Trump himself when he turned down an opportunity to represent the president in the special counsel’s investigation.
“During the meeting, the President reiterated his public statements denying collusion and describing the allegations as politically motivated. I did not respond to those comments,” Barr said.
He also reiterated how he shared with lawyers for the White House and for Trump a June 2018 memo he had written in which he disputed the idea that the president could have obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey.
Barr’s responses to the senators’ written questions largely matched his testimony from earlier this month.
Trump AG pick says he’s discussed Mueller probe with Pence (AP)
Attorney general nominee William Barr, in written answers submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated he would resign rather than fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller "without good cause" but also reiterated the possibility he would keep Mueller's final report hidden from the public.
Under Justice Department regulations, Mueller will submit a confidential report to the attorney general summarizing his decisions to charge or not charge figures in the probe. The attorney general will then decide what – if anything – to make public.
Through indictments and plea agreements, Mueller's office has already revealed extensive detail about Russian's efforts to sway the election and efforts by Trump associates to conceal contacts with that enterprise. But whether the public might learn about the conduct of people who are not charged has remained an open question.
Barr, in his written answers, suggested they might not. “It is also my understanding that it is department policy and practice not to criticize individuals for conduct that does not warrant prosecution,” Barr said.
Barr told senators at his confirmation hearing that he would make public as much as possible about the report. But several Democratic senators questioned why the entire report – other than confidential investigative material – wouldn’t be made public.
In response to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Barr said he didn’t recall any discussions about using executive privilege to prevent release of the report.
“If it turns out that any report contains material information that is privileged or confidential, I would not tolerate an effort to withhold such information for any improper purpose, such as to cover up wrongdoing,” Barr wrote.
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Barr had written an unsolicited memo in June 2018 for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the Mueller investigation day to day, that questioned Mueller's authority to pursue obstruction-of-justice charges against Trump under a specific statute. In response to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Barr said Monday he briefly discussed a memo with Trump when he was offered the job of attorney general on Nov. 27.
"I do not remember exactly what I said, but I recall offering a brief, one-sentence description of the memorandum," Barr said. "The President did not comment on my memorandum. There was no discussion of the substance of the investigation. The President did not ask me my views about any aspect of the investigation, and he did not ask me about what I would do about anything in the investigation."
Following his confirmation hearing, Senate Democrats voiced concern about the circumstances under which Barr would take the advice of career officials on whether he would recuse himself from the investigation. In response, Barr said at his hearing that he wouldn’t recuse himself if he disagreed with them.
Barr also repeated his commitment to consult with Justice Department ethics officials on whether he should recuse himself from deliberations on any pending matters, including the Russia inquiry. Barr said he had already had one such conversation regarding a memo he prepared that was critical of Mueller's investigation, but did not provide details. And he maintained that any final decision would be his.
“If confirmed, I will consult with the Department’s career ethics officials, review the facts, and make a decision regarding my recusal from any matter in good faith based on the facts and applicable law and rules," Barr said.
Asked how he would respond if the president claimed executive privilege to cover up evidence of a crime, Barr said: “I would resign.”
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Barr was also asked and he described a series of meetings, at the request of a federal judge for whom he was clerking, with an officer of the Soviet consulate in 1980.
Barr said he debriefed the FBI after each meeting and the meetings were reviewed as part of past background investigations. Barr previously served as attorney general in the early 1990s.
In the days after Trump ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Barr said that the White House counsel contacted him about his willingness to take on the job. Barr initially told the counsel Nov. 6 that he was “not then in a position to serve” as attorney general.
“At some point prior to Thanksgiving 2018, I communicated to the White House Counsel that I had reconsidered and would be willing to be considered for the position,” Barr said. “On Nov. 27, I participated in an interview at the White House with the White House Counsel and the President. During that interview, the President offered me the position, and I accepted.”
Barr dodges questions on national emergency declaration (Politico)
Attorney general nominee William Barr says he would resign rather than fire Mueller 'without good cause' (USA Today)