Attorney General William Barr is promising that under his tenure, the Department of Justice will remain apolitical.
“As long as I’m attorney general, the criminal justice system will not be used for partisan political ends. And, this is especially true for the upcoming elections in November,” Barr said during a press conference on Monday.
He continued to raise concerns about what he sees as “increasing attempts to use the criminal justice system as a political weapon.”
“The legal tactic has been to gin-up allegations of criminality by one’s political opponent, based on the flimsiest of legal theories. This is not a good development. This is not good for our political life, and it’s not good for the criminal justice system,” Barr said.
He continued, “We live in a very divided country right now, and I think that it is critical that we have an election where the American people are allowed to make a decision — a choice — between President Trump and Vice President Biden based on a robust debate of policy issues.”
“And we cannot allow this process to be hijacked by efforts to drum up criminal investigations of either candidate. And I’m committed that this election will be conducted without this kind of interference,” he added.
Additionally, Barr said he would have to approve any investigation of Trump or Biden.
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Attorney General Barr: "As long as I'm attorney general, the criminal justice system will not be used for partisan political ends. And, this is especially true for the upcoming elections in November." pic.twitter.com/Ce8DXZQXu5
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 18, 2020
He also called the investigation in whether members of Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russians to swing the election a “grave injustice.”
“The law enforcement and intelligence apparatus of this country were involved in advancing a false and utterly baseless Russian collusion narrative against the president. The proper investigative and prosecutive standards of the Department of Justice were abused, in my view, in order to reach a particular result,” he added.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded that after nearly two years of investigation, he could not find evidence of collusion.
Barr’s comments come as there are rising concerns that the Justice Department has become politicized during Trump’s tenure. Critics of the attorney general point to controversial decisions in a series of high profile cases to allege that he is trying to please his boss.
However, Barr has maintained that he is trying to uphold the rule of law and has denied that his actions are politically motivated.