Attorney General William Barr reportedly made an April phone call to President Trump after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Trump-Russia investigation to give advice on personal attorney Rudy Giuliani’s public statements.
Barr made the call after Giuliani repeatedly appeared on television railing against former White House counsel Don McGahn, who was mentioned 529 times in the 448-page report and who testified to investigators about significant incidents contained in the document, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Barr reportedly asked Trump why Giuliani was not just declaring victory and moving on from the investigation, which found no evidence that Trump conspired with Russia during the 2016 presidential election. The attorney general, in essence, wanted Trump to tell Giuliani to tone it down. McGahn, who departed his role in the administration in October 2018, is a longtime friend of Barr.
Democrats have accused Barr of being too close to Trump, and he is facing renewed criticism again after his name was mentioned in the transcript of a July 25 phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president that was central to the whistleblower complaint alleging wrongdoing by the president. Barr has reportedly expressed dismay that his name was grouped with Giuliani in the call.
Barr is also mentioned in the formal complaint, which alleges that Trump improperly pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate political rival Joe Biden. The existence of the transcript prompted House Democrats to launch an impeachment inquiry into the president, which has now led to Giuliani being subpoenaed by congressional committees.
The White House released a copy of the transcript in question last week. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly referred to the phone call as “perfect.”
