Confirmation Hearing to Probe AG Nominee William Barr's Views on Executive Privilege
*By Christian Smith*
When William Barr, President Trump's nominee for attorney general, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday for his confirmation hearing, his views on executive privilege will be under the microscope.
"Mr. Barr has expressed some very broad views of executive authority and he's also expressed a very strong view that a president cannot be criminally charged," Jennifer Daskal, Associate Professor of Law at American University, told Cheddar on Monday.
Barr has a history of supporting presidential power. As attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush, Barr argued the the president did not need congressional approval to engage in conflict in Iraq, Daskal noted.
In prepared testimony released Monday, Barr said that he would let Special Counsel Robert Mueller complete his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election if he is confirmed as attorney general. He also said that the results should be made public.
While Daskal said the statement was a good step, she expects Democrats on the committee to press him for more assurances about transparency.
"He is somebody who has consistently taken very, very broad views of the executive authority and we have currently an executive who asserts very, very strong claims about his prerogative to make unilateral decisions," she said. "So at the very least, it should be an interesting couple of years."
Barr's confirmation hearing is set to begin to Tuesday morning in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-william-barrs-confirmation-could-impact-the-mueller-investigation).
Melania Trump says it’s “heartbreaking” to see teens grapple with the fallout after they’re targeted by malicious and sexually explicit online content.
The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner has stepped down from her role at the agency over Department of Government Efficiency requests.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her government is not ruling out filing a civil lawsuit against Google if it maintains its stance of calling the stretch of sea between northeastern Mexico and the southeastern United States the “Gulf of America.” Sheinbaum, in her morning press conference on Thursday, said the president’s decree to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico is restricted to the “continental shelf of the United States” because Mexico still controls much of the body of water. “We have sovereignty over our continental shelf,” she said.
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger toug
