Trump’s AG pick says he was asked to join president’s legal team

William Barr tells Senate he met Trump in summer of 2017 at urging of ambassador to Israel, but ultimately declined job

By Ron Kampeas 15 January 2019, 8:46 pm
William Barr, US President Donald Trump's then-nominee for attorney general, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hil in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — William Barr, Donald Trump’s nominee to become attorney general, told a Senate confirmation hearing that US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman tried to recruit him to join the American president’s personal defense team.

Barr told senators on Tuesday that he met with Trump in the summer of 2017 at Friedman’s urging but ultimately declined the assignment.

The nominee is facing tough questions from Democrats about his independence because Barr once wrote an unsolicited memo saying that Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor investigating alleged improprieties by Trump during his campaign and presidency, did not have the authority to investigate Trump for obstruction of justice.

Barr told senators that he and Mueller were close and he wanted Mueller to wrap up his probe at his own pace.

Donald Trump and attorney David Friedman exit the Federal Building, following an appearance in US Bankruptcy Court on February 25, 2010, in Camden, New Jersey. (Bradley C. Bower/Bloomberg News, via Getty Images/JTA)

Friedman was a lawyer for Trump before becoming the ambassador. In the summer he made the call to Barr, Friedman was part of a small team led by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, attempting to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

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