William Barr compares return to Justice Department to D-Day invasion

Attorney General William Barr drew parallels Friday between his return to the Department of Justice and Allied soldiers invading Nazi-occupied Friday during World War II.

“This is my second stint as attorney general,” Mr. Barr said during an address to incoming FBI agents. “My arrival this time was a little more eventful than I recall it being the last time.”

“As we’ve been watching the coverage of June 6, 1944 — D-Day — I had the thought that my arrival this time felt a little bit, I think, like jumping into Sainte-Mère-Église on the morning of June 5, trying to figure out where you could land without getting shot,” he said.

Less than 10 miles west of Utah beach, U.S. paratroopers were airdropped into Sainte-Mère-Église on the morning of D-Day during the start of the unprecedented Allied invasion of Normandy, France, where President Trump visited Thursday the week to commemorate the operation’s 75th anniversary. The invasion paved the way for an Allied victory the following year, albeit not without costing the lives of several thousands of U.S. troops and other soldiers.

Mr. Barr, 69, served as attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush between 1991 to 1993. He was nominated for another term in 2018 by Mr. Trump to succeed Jeff Sessions, and he was confirmed by the Senate in February despite opposition from Democrats, who are considering holding a vote in the House of Representatives next week to potentially hold Mr. Barr in contempt for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena.