Attorney general nominee: Trump has not asked about Mueller probe

Attorney General nominee William Barr told senators that President Trump has not asked him about his views on special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. 

Barr — in written answers to senators’ questions that were released Monday — said that throughout his talks with the White House during the nomination process there had been “no discussion of the substance” of the investigation. 

{mosads}”The President has not asked me my views about any aspect of the investigation, and he has not asked me about what I would do about anything in the investigation,” Barr added in response to a question from Senate Judiciary Committee member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on the probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. 

The fate of Mueller’s investigation has loomed over Barr’s nomination. If confirmed, Barr, who previously served as attorney general to President George H.W. Bush, would have oversight of the probe, which has been a frequent punching bag for Trump.

He told senators during his confirmation hearing earlier this month that he would let Mueller’s probe continue and that Trump had not asked him, if confirmed, to fire Mueller or interfere with his investigation. 

Barr added during the hearing that the president had asked, during a “brief meeting” in 2017, about “how well” the former attorney general knew Mueller. 

“I told him how well I knew Bob Mueller and our — and how, you know, the Barrs and Muellers were good friends and would be good friends when this is all over, and so forth. And he was interested in that, wanted to know, you know, what I thought about Mueller’s integrity and so forth and so on,” Barr told senators during his confirmation hearing earlier this month. 

Barr added in his written response to senators that Trump also used the meeting to reiterate “his public statements denying collusion and describing the allegations as politically motivated. I did not respond to those comments.”

The written responses from Barr come as his nomination will go before the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, though a vote is expected to be delayed until next week. 

No Democratic senator has said they will support Trump’s pick. But Barr is expected to easily clear the committee, where Republicans have a two-seat advantage over Democrats.