Trang Ánh Nam

 In theory, former Attorney General Bill Barr finds himself in a difficult position. The Republican tapped special counsel John Durham to investigate the investigation into the Russia scandal, and the entire three-year effort is proving to be a fiasco. Durham’s failed and misguided prosecution of Michael Sussmann this week was the latest embarrassment, but it doesn’t stand alone. It was against this backdrop that Barr turned to Fox News last night to brag about how “very proud” he is of the prosecutor’s work. The former attorney general added: BILL BARR: No, I’m very proud of John Durham. And I do take responsibility for his appointment. I think he and his team did an exceptionally able job both digging out very important facts and presenting a compelling case to the jury. And the fact that he — while he did not succeed in getting a conviction from the D.C. jury, I think he accomplished something far more important, which is he brought out the truth in two important area

It's the question that has dominated politics for more than two years -- what exactly happened with counterintelligence activities conducted during the 2016 election and the Russia probe. Now, in his first interview since joining the Trump administration, Attorney General Bill Barr detailed how he plans to get to the bottom of the origins of the probe, his thoughts on James Comey, Robert Mueller and other issues related to the special counsel's investigation. While in El Salvador, Attorney General Barr told the Wall Street Journal that it wasn’t that he was trying to protect President Trump himsself, but rather the presidency: POLITICAL WIRE  – Attorney General William Barr told the Wall Street Journal that “his long-held belief in executive power is more about protecting the presidency than the current officeholder.” Said Barr: “I felt the rules were being changed to hurt Trump, and I thought it was damaging for the presidency over the long haul.” He added: “

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) tells Chuck Todd, “After his performance today, I’m not surprised [Barr] doesn’t want to repeat it again tomorrow,” and calls Barr testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee today, a “pretty sorry performance.” The Attorney General has now informed the House Judiciary Committee that he will NOT be in attendance for tomorrow’s scheduled hearing: A House Judiciary Committee side says the committee has been informed by DOJ that Barr will NOT be coming for his scheduled 9 am appearance before the committee tomorrow. There has been an ongoing dispute about whether staff could question him during the hearing. — Rebecca Kaplan (@RebeccaRKaplan) May 1, 2019 BREAKING: Per a congressional source, the House Judiciary Committee has been notified by the DOJ that Attorney General Barr is NOT coming to testify tomorrow. DOJ has told the committee to expect a letter officially stating that shortly, according to my source. — Yamiche Alcindor (@Yami