Barr Is Reportedly Preparing For January 6 Committee Interview

Topline

Former Trump Administration Attorney General Bill Bar, a vocal critic of the ex-president’s false claims of election fraud, is in “active discussions” to sit for a formal interview with the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot, Axios reported Thursday.

Key Facts

Barr is inclined to cooperate with the committee, Axios reported, citing an unnamed source.

However, the committee hasn’t decided whether to request Barr’s presence at the series of public hearings set to start in June, Axios reported.

The committee has already taken part in more informal “conversations” with Barr, committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told CBS in January.

Once a Trump loyalist, Barr broke ranks after Trump falsely claimed that his 2020 election loss was a result of widespread voter fraud.

Key Background

Barr served as attorney general under George H. W. Bush from 1991-1993 and again under Trump from 2019 to 2020. During his 22-month tenure with the Trump Administration, Barr was criticized for intervening in cases where Trump appeared to have a personal interest. Barr resigned in December 2020 shortly after he publicly disputed Trump’s false claims of Democrat-led voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, but continued to praise Trump for his policy accomplishments and for weathering Democrats’ criticism. Though Trump complimented Barr’s job performance when Barr resigned, he soon reversed course, blasting Barr for his supposed failure to investigate voter fraud and describing him as a “disappointment in every sense of the word.” Following the January 6 Capitol riot, Barr condemned Trump’s “inexcusable” response to the incident, furthering the rift between the two former allies.

Tangent

Last month, Barr told conservative news service Newsmax that it would be a “big mistake” for the GOP to nominate Trump again in 2024. However, a January Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that a majority of Republican voters favored Trump as the party’s 2024 nominee, putting Trump 45 points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his nearest runner-up.

Further Reading

“Barr — Ex-Attorney General Who Later Flipped On Trump — Has Talked To Jan. 6 Panel, Committee Chairman Says” (Forbes)