President Trump acknowledged he makes William Barr’s job more difficult by his use of social media, a critique the attorney general himself made last week.
Barr accused Trump of making his job “impossible” last week after the president weighed in on the sentence recommended for GOP operative Roger Stone. Federal prosecutors originally recommended that Stone, who was found guilty of lying to Congress, serve seven to nine years in prison, but Barr said they would aim for a lesser sentence after the president tweeted about it.
While speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump said that he agrees with the sentiment that he makes Barr’s “job harder” but added that “he’s a very straight shooter.”
“I will say this, social media, for me, has been very important,” he added. “It gives me a voice. Because I don’t get that voice in the press, in the media, I don’t get that voice. So, I’m allowed to have a voice.”
Before the DOJ got involved, Trump had called the recommended sentence for Stone a “very unfair situation” and added that he “cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!” However, the president said that he did not discuss the sentencing with Barr or other officials in the department before the announcement on walking back the sentencing recommendation was made.
