The Truth About Bill Barr's Relationship With Donald Trump

Jan. 6, 2021, was a disappointing day for Americans, to say the least. A wave of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol Building while Congress sat in session to confirm Joe Biden's election as President of the United States. Trump's followers flooded the halls, destroying multiple offices, pieces of art and other items as they went. About twenty minutes after the angry mob entered the building, Trump tweeted for those in the building to "Stay Peaceful!" and respect the law. While millions watched the raid live on TV around the world, many celebrities and White House officials took to social media to share their thoughts on the crisis. One former official who spoke up was ex-Attorney General William "Bill" Barr, who has quite the history with the reality star-turned-president. On Jan. 7, Barr shared his statement with the Associated Press. He directly blamed former President Donald Trump for the attack on the Capitol. Barr said, "Orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable. The President's conduct yesterday was a betrayal of his office and supporters." After Barr announced in early December that the Justice Department had found no evidence of large scale voter fraud in the 2020 election, Trump retweeted radio host Todd Starnes on Dec. 12, saying Barr should be fired. Trump then announced on Dec. 14 that Barr had resigned from his position as Attorney General, effective Dec. 23. The president tweeted: "Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family." Despite their disagreements, Barr had nothing but positive things to say about Trump in his resignation letter. He even brought up one of Trump's favorite punching bags, former FBI Director Robert Mueller's investigation of accusations of Trump campaign collusion with Russia. Trump called Barr "fair and reasonable" in a 2019 tweet, congratulating Barr for "taking charge" of the February 2020 Mueller investigation. Then things got messy. In a December 2020 tweet, Trump appeared to blame Barr, in part, for him losing the presidential election. Trump and allies had been working for months to tie Hunter Biden, his political opponent Joe Biden's son, to what they called corrupt dealings in Ukraine. Hunter Biden hasn't been charged with any crimes in investigations of those allegations. According to CNN, sources close to the situation revealed that President Trump was "seriously considering firing his attorney general" days before the resignation announcement, though officials close to Trump, quote, "did not believe he would go through with dismissing Barr immediately." Still, multiple officials noted that the meeting the two men had was, quote, "cordial." One further explained: "He wasn't asked to resign. It was an amicable meeting." Barr's and others' words may have reached Donald Trump in the end, as the president had a change of tune in a video statement released on Jan. 7, 2021. He said, "I would like to begin by addressing the heinous attack on the United States Capitol. Like all Americans I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem. I immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders. [...] Now, Congress has certified the results. A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power." There's some disagreement about how immediately the National Guard was deployed, or if Trump was responsible for doing so. A senior administration official told CBS News that, quote, "The D.C. National Guard was activated on Wednesday after [Vice President Mike] Pence contacted Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller." Trump's speech ended with the president promising an orderly transition of power, and calling for "healing and reconciliation." Barr has yet to speak about Trump's latest remarks. #DonaldTrump #BillBarr