Attorney General William Barr speaks during a news conference, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020 at the Justice Department in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)
By Michael Balsamo
Breaking with President Donald Trump, outgoing Attorney General William Barr said Monday he saw “no reason” to appoint a special counsel to look into the president’s claims of election fraud or the tax investigation into the son of President-elect Joe Biden.
In his final press conference, Barr also broke with Trump in reinforcing that federal officials believe Russia was behind the cyberespionage operation targeting the U.S. government. Trump had suggested without evidence that China could be responsible.
Barr said the investigation into Hunter Biden's financial dealings was “being handled responsibly and professionally.”
“I have not seen a reason to appoint a special counsel and I have no plan to do so before I leave,” he said.
Barr also told The Associated Press in a previous interview that he had seen no evidence of widespread voting fraud, despite Trump's claims to the contrary. Trump has continued to push baseless claims even after the Electoral College formalized Biden's victory on Dec. 14.
Trump — angry that Barr didn’t publicly announce the ongoing, two-year investigation into Hunter Biden — has consulted on special counsels with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and outside allies, according to several Trump administration officials and Republicans close to the White House who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters.
Beyond appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the younger Biden, the sources said Trump was interested in having another special counsel appointed to look into his own baseless claims of election fraud. Trump has even floated the idea of naming attorney Sidney Powell as the counsel on election fraud — though Powell was booted from Trump's legal team after she made a series of increasingly wild conspiratorial claims about the election.
Naming a special counsel would make it harder for Biden to shut down investigations. But it’s not clear how it could be done without buy-in from Justice officials. And if Trump was expecting his newly named acting attorney general, Jeff Rosen, to go further than Barr on either matter, he could end up quickly disappointed.
Barr said the hack of U.S. government agencies “certainly appears to be the Russians.”
In implicating the Russians, Barr was siding with the widely held belief within the U.S. government and the cybersecurity community that Russian hackers were responsible for breaches that have affected multiple government agencies, including the Treasury and Commerce departments.
Hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a radio interview that Russia was “pretty clearly” behind the hacks, Trump sought to undercut that message — and downplay the severity — by tweeting that the “Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality.” He also said China could be responsible even though no credible evidence has emerged to suggest anyone other than Russia might be to blame.
President Biden announced a ban on Russian oil and natural gas imports to the U.S. in response to its invasion of Ukraine, a move he warned could lead to an even greater surge in gas prices. The ban is prompting a conversation about the current oil production levels in the U.S. and whether or not the industry can ramp up production to soften the blow to American families at the gas pump. Clark Williams-Derry, Energy Finance Analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, breaks down the state of the U.S. oil industry and how the ban might impact production levels here at home.
PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Starbucks are the latest American food brands to have halted business operations in Russia after having faced scrutiny and criticism for originally failing to do so amid the country's invasion of Ukraine.
As Russia intensifies its war on Ukraine, President Biden announced a ban on oil imported from the aggressor nation. Critics of Russia have said this would be the best way to force Putin to pull back, but curbs on Russian oil exports are expected to send already skyrocketing oil and gas prices even higher, further impacting consumers, businesses, financial markets, and the global economy. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Energy Workforce and Technology Council, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "It's certainly going to increase pricing, but it is the right thing to do," she said. "The industry itself has already pulled out of the significant portion of its operations in Russia."
Sports Betting in the U.S. is booming. According to industry experts, we could see another boom this year as more states move towards statewide legalization of sports wagering. While this comes as huge news for fans, there are some very real concerns as to whether or not sports betting potentially poses a threat to public health. Senior Clinician at the Caron Treatment Centers, Eric Webber, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The Biden administration has made gender policy a core part of how it governs. The president established the first Gender Policy Council. It's on the same level as the National Security Council, Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council, putting the interests of women and other underserved groups at the table for the most important policy discussions.
Cheddar News sat down with Jennifer Klein, executive director and co-chair of the White House Gender Policy Council, to discuss the council's work and its significance during Women's History Month.
State Representative Jessica González, Vice Chair of the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus, joins Cheddar News to discuss the latest Texas anti-transgender directive.
The United States Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack joins None of the Above to discuss the newly emerging conflict in Europe, what it means for agriculture in the states, dairy and meat consumption, and how the department is planning to promote climate-smart agriculture.
Tens of thousands of people have fled Ukraine in attempts to escape the Russian Invasion. According to the U.N. neighboring countries like Poland, Hungary, and even Romania have seen half a million refugees. While the hospitality is being welcomed by many, it also highlights the mistreatment of migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Africa. Professor of Philosophy and Director of Politics at Northeastern University Serena Parekh, joined Cheddar, to discuss more.
As Russia unleashed war in the country of Ukraine, global leaders have started inflicting punishment on Vladimir Putin's regime via commercial and financial penalties. According to President Joe Biden Putin's aggression is "a flagrant violation of international law and it demands a firm response from the international community".However, the main question is will these sanctions actually work. Partner at Jenner & Block LLP, Rachel Alpert, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
