Barr sworn in for 2nd stint as US attorney general

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

William Barr was sworn in Thursday for his second stint as the nation’s attorney general, taking the helm of the Justice Department as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Earlier Thursday, the Senate voted 54-45 to confirm the veteran government official, mostly along party lines. Barr, who also served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993 during President George H.W. Bush’s administration, succeeds Jeff Sessions. President Donald Trump pushed Sessions out of office last year after railing against his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

As the country’s chief law-enforcement officer, Barr will oversee the remaining work in Mueller’s investigation into potential coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign and decide how much Congress and the public know about its conclusion. He’ll also take over a department that Trump has publicly assailed.

Democrats, who largely voted against Barr, said they were concerned about his noncommittal stance on making Mueller’s report public. Barr promised to be as transparent as possible but said he takes seriously the Justice Department regulations that dictate Mueller’s report should be treated as confidential.

Barr’s opponents also pointed to a memo he wrote to Justice officials before his nomination that criticized Mueller’s investigation for the way it was presumably looking into whether Trump had obstructed justice.