In a TV interview, former Attorney General William Barr paints a bleak scenario for Donald Trump’s future. Trump responded with a verbal attack.
Former US Attorney General William Barr, once a close ally of ex-US President Donald Trump, has expressed shock at the extent of the document scandal. One must wait and see what Trump’s defense says and what turns out to be true. But: “If even half of it is true, then he’s done,” Barr told Fox News on Sunday about the former US President. “It’s a very detailed indictment and it’s very incriminating,” Barr said.
Above all, the explosiveness and number of documents is shocking. “I think the charges under the Espionage Act that he willfully withheld those documents are solid,” Barr said.
Barr: Government acted appropriately in the Trump case
The Republican lawyer was appointed attorney general by Trump in 2019. He previously served in the George HW Bush administration as Attorney General. In December 2020, Barr resigned from his post in Trump’s cabinet. Since then he has largely broken with the ex-president.
His comments on Fox News contrast with Trump’s tirade against federal prosecutors, who he says are pursuing him as part of a “witch hunt.” Barr said: “The goal of the government was to protect these documents and get them out, and I think that was absolutely appropriate to do that. It was right.”
According to the indictment published on Friday, Trump is said to have withheld, among other things, confidential and top-secret documents on the US nuclear program and possible US weaknesses in the event of an attack and stowed them in his private home Mar-a-Lago. The Republican is also said to have shown another person a document from the Department of Defense that describes a plan of attack against another country. Other material comes from secret services such as the CIA and NSA. Trump is also accused of obstruction of justice.
Trump calls Barr ‘lazy’
Trump immediately responded to his former Attorney General’s comments. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he accused Barr of making the comments out of irritation and claimed it was misinformation. He also called Barr a “lazy” and “weak” attorney general. “Turn off Fox News when that cowardly pig is on the air,” Trump said.
According to earlier statements, he is due to appear in court in Florida on Tuesday. According to his campaign offices, Trump plans to give a speech at around 8:15 p.m. at his golf club in Bedminster, New York.