Attorney General nominee William Barr said Tuesday that he will decide whether or not to recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Mr. Barr’s statement came as top Democrats demand he remove himself from the Russia probe ahead of his confirmation hearing.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, said Mr. Barr should recuse himself unless he “completely disavows” a view he expressed in a memo that Mr. Mueller’s focus on whether President Trump obstructed justice was “fatally misconceived.”
But Barr said the decision on whether or not to recuse rests with him, without giving a firm commitment on whether he would step aside.
“I will seek the advice of the career ethics personnel [at the Justice Department] but under the regulations, I make the decision about my own recusal,” he said. “At the end of the day, I would make a decision in good faith based on the laws and facts at the time.”
Mr. Barr said some conflicts require mandatory recusal and he would seek on following the ethics’ office advice.
When asked by Sen. Patrick Leahy, Vermont Democrat, if he would fire Mr. Mueller, the attorney general nominee said it would be “unimaginable.”
“Under the regulations, Bob Mueller can only be terminated with good cause and, frankly, it is unimaginable to me that Bob would ever do anything that would give rise to good cause.”
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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