Barr Sworn in for 2nd Stint as US AG   02/15 06:37

   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.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- 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, often questioning the integrity and loyalty of those who 
work there.

   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. Barr wrote that 
Trump could not have obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James 
Comey since it was an action the president was constitutionally entitled to 
take.

   That view has alarmed Democrats, especially since the obstruction inquiry 
has been central to Mueller's investigation.

   "Mr. Barr's views about the power of the president are especially troubling 
in light of his refusal to commit to making the special counsel's findings and 
the report publicly available," said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top 
Democrat on the Judiciary panel. Feinstein said the attorney general should be 
"objective" and "clearly committed to protecting the interest of the people, 
the country and the Constitution."

   Barr will be tasked with restoring some stability after almost two years of 
open tension between Trump and Justice officials. Trump lashed out at Sessions 
repeatedly before he finally pushed him out in November, and he has also 
publicly criticized Mueller and his staff, calling the probe a "witch hunt" and 
suggesting they are out to get him for political reasons. The criticism 
extended to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller as 
special counsel. Rosenstein is expected to leave the department shortly after 
Barr takes office.

   Trump has directed some of his strongest vitriol at department officials who 
were part of the decisions to start investigating his campaign's Russia ties in 
2016 and to clear Democrat Hillary Clinton in an unrelated email probe that 
same year. Trump has repeatedly suggested that the agents and officials, many 
of whom have since left, were conspiring against him. In an interview aired 
Thursday, fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CBS' "60 Minutes" 
that Justice Department officials discussed bringing the Cabinet together to 
consider using the Constitution's 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office 
after Comey's firing.

   Trump responded to the McCabe interview with a tweet: "Disgraced FBI Acting 
Director Andrew McCabe pretends to be a 'poor little Angel' when in fact he was 
a big part of the Crooked Hillary Scandal & the Russia Hoax - a puppet for 
Leakin' James Comey. I.G. report on McCabe was devastating."

   In his hearing last month, Barr vowed that he would not "be bullied," said 
Mueller's investigation is not a witch hunt and agreed that Sessions was right 
to recuse himself from the probe. Barr said he was a friend of Mueller's and 
repeatedly sought to assuage concerns that he might disturb or upend the 
investigation as it reaches its final stages.

   When Trump nominated Barr, he called him "a terrific man" and "one of the 
most respected jurists in the country."

   "I think he will serve with great distinction," Trump said.

   Since Sessions departed last year, the position has been temporarily filled 
by Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has come under fire from 
Democrats for his past criticism of the Mueller probe. Whitaker said last month 
that he believed Mueller's investigation was nearly complete --- a departure 
for the Justice Department, which rarely comments on the state of the 
investigation.

   Three Democrats --- Sens. Doug Jones of Alabama, Joe Manchin of West 
Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona --- joined Republicans in voting to 
confirm Barr. GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican who voted 
no. He cited concerns about Barr's views on surveillance, among other issues.


(KA)