Bill Barr won't back a 2024 Trump run but doesn't quite condemn his former boss

 

Bill Barr won't back a 2024 Trump¹ run but doesn't quite condemn² his former boss

Transcript³

Editor's note: This story contains language that some people may find offensive.

William Barr says many people have the wrong idea about his time as attorney general in the Trump administration.

"The media chose to weave a narrative⁴ that I was a toady⁵ to the president, and that was false from the beginning, because I felt I could be independent, and I was," he told Morning Edition in an interview that aired on Monday.

Barr gives his version of events in a new memoir⁶ called One Damn Thing After Another, a reference to how one of his predecessors⁷ described running the Justice Department. In an NPR interview, Barr maintains that he bluntly refuted the president's notions about a stolen election. He also defends his interventions⁸ in investigations¹⁰ of Trump and his allies.

The memoir takes a critical look at Trump's presidency¹¹ and suggests Republicans should nominate someone else in 2024. If Trump ran again, Barr told NPR, "I think that he would be one of the weaker candidates. We have a lot of young candidates who will fight for principle but don't have the sort of obnoxious¹² personal characteristics that alienate¹³ a lot of voters."Barr thinks the Republican Party needs a new presidential nominee¹⁴ for 2024, pointing to "young candidates who will fight for principle," without the "obnoxious personal characteristics that alienate a lot of voters."Shuran Huang for NPR

Yet the book is just as notable for how much Barr still agrees with the former president. He blames left-wing progressives, not his own party, for dividing the country.

Barr describes the former president as constantly distracted by his own self-interest. This trait was exploited by Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state at the time:

"We had this running joke that, whenever the president was chewing out Mike about something in a private Oval Office meeting, all Mike had to do was mention Russiagate or something like that," he said. "And the president would, you know, take it and run for quite a while, he'd rant¹⁵ and ... he wouldn't remember what he was angry at Pompeo about.""At one point, I said to the president: 'You know, Mr. President, you're like a bull in a bull ring and your adversaries¹⁶ have your number. They know how to get under your skin, and all they have to do is wave a red flag over here and you go charging and attack it.' And I said, 'At the end of the day, you're going to be in the middle of the ring sweating and someone's going to come and put a sword through your head,' " said Barr. "He didn't think much of that metaphor¹⁷."A natural sympathy for Trump, worn thin by election liesBarr, a two-time attorney general and conservative Republican, grew up in a conservative family in liberal New York City. When left-wing protesters took over the library at Columbia University during the 1960s, Barr, a freshman¹⁸, joined the counterprotesters.

Barr worked for the CIA before his first stint¹⁹ as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush. His book spends much time on the culture wars, accusing radical²⁰ progressives of dividing the country — making it easier to understand what he saw in Donald Trump.

But after the 2020 election, when Barr couldn't tell Trump what he wanted to hear, the attorney general finally broke with the president.

As he told The Associated Press at the time, Barr said the Justice Department found no evidence of any widespread voter fraud in the election. Barr says in his book that he told the president to his face that the stolen election claims were "bull****."The president angrily accepted Barr's resignation on the spot. He took it back moments later, but Barr resigned for real in December 2020.

"After the election, he didn't seem to listen to anybody except a group of sycophants²¹ who were telling him what he wanted to hear," Barr said.

When the DOJ investigated the baseless election fraud claims, Barr said, "it was like playing whack-a-mole. All the theories of the day that came out, when we looked into them, they just evaporated. They were just completely without foundation."Barr called attention to an NPR interview with Trump in January, in which Trump repeated election lies. "He's had a year to think about it," Barr said, and still has no better evidence than a false claim that Biden received "more votes than voters" in Philadelphia. The claim has been disproven, "and yet you continue to hear this thing repeated," he said.

He calls his Trump-friendly decisions a refusal to criminalize politicsBefore Trump tried to overturn the election, Barr was seen as one of his ruthless defenders²², making decisions for the Justice Department that favored Trump and his allies.

He does not express regret for those decisions. He argues that too many political differences are turned into criminal investigations, which is why, he said, he personally intervened in high-profile cases during his tenure²³.

He dropped a charge against former national security adviser²⁴ Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI, even though Flynn himself admitted to the crime. Barr said FBI agents did not have a good reason to question him.

In 2019, Barr supplied to Congress his own summary of the high-profile investigation⁹ into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, concluding that the Trump campaign did not conspire²⁵ with Russia and that no determination could be made as far as an obstruction²⁶ of justice.

Then-special counsel Robert Mueller, who led the investigation, said Barr failed to capture the "substance" of Mueller's findings. Barr disagreed, and tells NPR that he has not spoken to his longtime friend since then.

Does Barr have anything to say to Mueller today? "I wouldn't tell him anything," Barr said. "He tried to do his job. I tried to do my job."Attorney General Barr Says DOJ Acts Independent Of Trump's InterestsPOLITICS

Attorney General Barr Says DOJ Acts Independent Of Trump's InterestsIn some ways, Barr and Trump remain on the same pageOn many issues, Barr defends the former president. He tells NPR that he didn't "understand" Trump's "affinity²⁷" for political strongmen such as Russian President Vladimir Putin but did understand his efforts at fostering good relations with Putin.

Then there was Trump's infamous²⁸ phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In that 2019 call, Zelenskyy appealed for Javelin²⁹ missiles to defend themselves against Russian tanks, weapons Ukraine now says it needs more of in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Trump asked Zelenskyy for help in digging up political dirt to use in his reelection. He urged Zelenskyy to talk with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and with Barr. Barr says he had nothing to do with it.

"It was an absurd idea and it was pursued in a farcical way," Barr said. "But at the time, I didn't think it was criminal, and I still don't think it was criminal."Barr: DOJ Has No Evidence Of Fraud Affecting 2020 Election OutcomeBIDEN TRANSITION UPDATES

Barr: DOJ Has No Evidence Of Fraud Affecting 2020 Election OutcomeFor all of his criticism of Donald Trump, Barr repeatedly writes that radical leftists are the ones who want to tear down traditional American institutions.

Asked about whether the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol wasn't an effort to tear down the democratic system, he said, "I didn't view it as an insurrection. I mean, I think it was a riot that got out of control."Despite calls from a pro-Trump mob at the Capitol that day to "hang Mike Pence," Barr said he didn't take the threat against the then-vice president literally³⁰. "I thought that that was essentially³¹ a propaganda-type thing," he said.

He tells NPR that if he had been in the Senate for Trump's second impeachment³², he would have voted to acquit³³ the former president because Trump had left office by then.

Nonetheless, he's hoping that his party moves on — by making a different choice when they select the next Republican presidential nominee.

Barry Gordemer and Jan Johnson produced and edited the audio version of this story. Emma Bowman produced it for the web.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

5 toady   

v.奉承；n.谄媚者，马屁精

参考例句：

• He flung it in my teeth that I was a toady.他责备我是个马屁精。
• Arrogance has no defense against a toady.傲慢防不了谄媚者。

6 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

7 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

11 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

12 obnoxious   

adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的

参考例句：

• These fires produce really obnoxious fumes and smoke.这些火炉冒出来的烟气确实很难闻。
• He is the most obnoxious man I know.他是我认识的最可憎的人。

13 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。

14 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

15 rant   

v.咆哮；怒吼；n.大话；粗野的话

参考例句：

• You can rant and rave at the fine,but you'll still have to pay it.你闹也好，骂也好，罚金还是得交。
• If we rant on the net,the world is our audience.如果我们在网络上大声嚷嚷，全世界都是我们的听众。

16 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

17 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

18 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

19 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

20 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

21 sycophants   

n.谄媚者，拍马屁者( sycophant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The office is a menagerie of egotists and sycophants. 该办公室乃是自私者与谄媚者汇集之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They even praise such a disappointing program, they really are sycophants. 这么差劲的节目也有人夸赞，真是捧臭脚！ 来自互联网

22 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

24 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

25 conspire   

v.密谋，（事件等）巧合，共同导致

参考例句：

• They'd conspired to overthrow the government.他们曾经密谋推翻政府。
• History and geography have conspired to bring Greece to a moment of decision.历史和地理因素共同将希腊推至作出抉择的紧要关头。

26 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

27 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

28 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

29 javelin   

n.标枪，投枪

参考例句：

• She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中，她掷了60米远。
• The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。

30 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

31 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

32 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

33 acquit   

vt.宣判无罪；(oneself)使(自己)表现出

参考例句：

• That fact decided the judge to acquit him.那个事实使法官判他无罪。
• They always acquit themselves of their duty very well.他们总是很好地履行自己的职责。