William P. Barr, who also served as attorney general under President George Bush, promised to withstand political pressure from Mr. Trump or other forces, saying his age, 68, and experience freed him to act independently.
Known for his unusually expansive views of executive power, Mr. Barr qualified some of his beliefs. He emphasized legal limits on the presidency and law enforcement independence.
He pledged to allow the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, to finish his investigation.
Mr. Barr defended as “entirely proper” an unsolicited memo he wrote criticizing Mr. Mueller’s examination of whether the president obstructed justice.
KEY MOMENT
Mr. Barr used his opening remarks to the committee to clarify that he has no intention of firing Mr. Mueller before his work is done and to indicate that he would provide “as much transparency as I can consistent with the law” around the investigation’s results. The rule of law, he insisted, should be above and outside of the politics that divide the nation.
“It is in the best interest of everyone — the president, Congress and, most importantly, the American people — that this matter be resolved by allowing the special counsel to complete his work,” Mr. Barr said. He added: “I will follow the special counsel regulations scrupulously and in good faith, and on my watch, Bob will be allowed to finish.”
Mr. Mueller is believed to be in the final stages of his inquiry, which he took over from the F.B.I. in May 2017 after agents opened it nearly two and a half years ago.
“The country needs a credible resolution of these issues,” Mr. Barr said.
The fate of Mr. Mueller’s findings — an expected report — was a recurring topic. Mr. Barr said that Mr. Mueller’s report to the attorney general will be “confidential,” but the attorney general will then produce his own report to Congress based on that material. He said that he intended to be as transparent as possible given grand-jury secrecy rules, but that he would not let the White House edit or change it, as the president’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has suggested may happen.
“That will not happen,” Mr. Barr said
Pressed later by Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, if he would allow the White House to “correct and put spin on” a Mueller report before it was released publicly, Mr. Barr gave a firm no. “That will not happen,” he said.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, one of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, has repeatedly said that the White House should be allowed to review and edit the special counsel’s work product before the Justice Department makes it public, if it chooses to make it public.
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