Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday he will vote against advancing the nomination of William Barr, President Trump’s pick for attorney general.
Mr. Barr’s nomination is set to be voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. If the panel approves the nomination, Mr. Barr will face a full confirmation vote before the Senate.
Mr. Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat and committee member, said he plans to vote against confirming Mr. Barr.
The senator said he was concerned about whether Mr. Barr would release the eventual findings of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling — and if members of the Trump campaign were involved.
“The defining question for me was his declining to commit to release the Special Counsel’s report fully and completely,” Mr. Blumenthal said in a statement. “He chose not to make the commitment to release that report completely and directly to Congress and the American people.”
During his confirmation hearing last month, Mr. Barr hedged on whether he would release the special counsel’s conclusions and even offered to author his own report based on Mr. Mueller’s findings.
“Will Mr. Barr be the people’s lawyer or the President’s lawyer?” Mr. Blumenthal said in the statement.
Despite opposition from Mr. Blumenthal and other Democrats, Mr. Barr is expected to pass the committee vote and be confirmed later this month.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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