Barr: ‘Everyone agreed use of regular troops is a last resort’

Attorney General William Barr said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that “everyone” in the Trump administration agreed that active-duty military personnel should only be deployed in response to demonstrations over the death of George Floyd “as a last resort.”

Barr called a CBS report that President Trump had demanded on Monday morning for 10,000 active-duty troops to be deployed to American cities “completely false.”

“The decision was made to have at the ready or on hand in the vicinity in the vicinity some regular troops,” he added, but “everyone agreed use of regular troops is a last resort.”

“I think our position was common, which was that they should only be deployed as a last resort. And that we didn’t think we would need them. I think everyone was on the same page,” Barr said, referring to himself, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley

Host Margaret Brennan said following the segment that CBS stands by its reporting.

Barr also defended the forcible clearing of Lafayette Square Monday, denying that the crowd had been peaceful protesters and saying they had thrown “projectiles” at police, contradicting reporting from the scene of the protest, including that of The Hill.

The attorney general also denied tear gas or any other chemical irritant was used, saying “pepper spray is not a chemical irritant.” Park Police issued a similar denial last week before later walking it back.

AG Bill Barr says methods @usparkpolicepio used to move protesters were appropriate “when they met resistance” including tear gas used to clear crowds in front of St. John’s Church and pepper balls Monday to “put a larger perimeter around” @WhiteHouse https://t.co/DyNsvp1mdv pic.twitter.com/C1OjVUkHJS

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) June 7, 2020

Asked if he would have done anything differently in hindsight, Barr responded: “I haven’t studied the events retrospectively in detail, but I think in general, you had the qualified law enforcement officials with shields warning and moving a line slowly. They had mounted officers moving slowly, directing people to move. And most people complied.”

After initial reporting that Barr had personally ordered the clearing of the park, the attorney general said Saturday that he “didn’t just say to them, ‘Go.’”

“I’m not involved in giving tactical commands like that,” he added at the time.