USA Today is calling for the confirmation of William Barr as attorney general.
“There are times for Democrats to confront President Donald Trump and times not to,” the newspaper said in an editorial posted Monday evening.
“The nomination of William Barr to be attorney general, pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee, is an example of the latter.”
USA Today said he would be a “vast improvement over the acting attorney general (Matthew Whitaker).”
And it noted: “Barr is an experienced, responsible law enforcement professional with an impressive résumé and a healthy respect for the people looking into the potential misdeeds of President Donald Trump and his election campaign."
It said a strong vote by Democrats would give them “credibility and political capital by demonstrating they are open-minded.”
“This is not to say that Barr does not raise some red flags,” the editorial said . “He sent an unsolicited legal memorandum last year to senior Trump administration officials, which strikes us as an attorney searching for a position in the Justice Department by toadying up to the White House. Most troubling is what he said in the memorandum: that presidents have largely unfettered power to start or end law enforcement actions, and that (special counsel Robert) Mueller’s inquiry into whether Trump committed obstruction of justice was 'fatally misconceived.'”
But the editorial noted he has tried to distance himself from the memo.
And it maintained he is a strong candidate for the job.
“The sooner he's on the job, the better,” it concluded.
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