Attorney General William P. Barr on Wednesday spent his last day as head of the Justice Department, thanking his colleagues for their “outstanding work” and for meeting “historic challenges.”
“Over the past two years, the dedicated men and women of this Department — including its operational components — have risen to meet historic challenges and upheld our vital mission to enforce the rule of law,” Mr. Barr wrote in a letter to Justice Department employees. “I have been continually inspired by your professionalism and outstanding work.
“As I did almost 30 years ago, I leave this Office with deep respect for you, and I will always be grateful for your devoted service to the Nation we love,” he wrote.
Mr. Barr had previously served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush.
President Trump announced Mr. Barr’s resignation earlier this month, praising him for an “outstanding job.”
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen will take over as acting attorney general until President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s nominee can be confirmed by the senate.
Despite the kind departing words, Mr. Barr and the president openly clashed in his final weeks.
Mr. Barr rankled the president by saying the Justice Department had not found any evidence of large-scale voter fraud that would overturn Mr. Biden’s election victory.
The president had also grown frustrated with the slow pace of U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the early stages of the FBI’s Russia-collusion probe.
The White House has denied that Mr. Barr was forced out and rumors that he was planning to step down had surfaced weeks before he was criticized by the president.
In his resignation letter, Mr. Barr lauded the president’s record.
“Few could have weathered these attacks, much less forge ahead with a positive program for the country,” he wrote, hailing Mr. Trump’s work to rebuild the military and to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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