Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that he will not vote for William Barr, President Trump’s pick to be the new attorney general.
Mr. Durbin told CNN’s “New Day” that he had two key reasons for rejecting Mr. Barr’s nomination — both regarding the integrity of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
“I believe the Mueller report should be made available to the public and transparent,” said Mr. Durbin, Illinois Democrat. “Mr. Barr has not made that commitment.”
Several other Democrats have decided not to vote for the nominee because of his lack of a formal commitment to make the Mueller report public.
During his hearing, Mr. Barr did say he wants to make as much of it public as possible.
Mr. Durbin is also withholding his vote because of a memo that Mr. Barr sent as a private citizen in June that criticized the Mueller investigation.
In the memo, Mr. Barr said the obstruction of justice element of the investigation was “fatally misconceived” and argued that Mr. Trump did not obstruct justice when he fired former FBI Director James B. Comey.
Mr. Durbin argued that the memo suggested the president was “above the law.”
“I don’t agree with that conclusion, and I worry about that voluntary memo,” the senator said.
The Judiciary Committee will vote on Mr. Barr’s nomination on Thursday. Despite opposition from Democrats, the nomination is expected to make it out of the committee and onto the Senate floor for another vote.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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