Attorney General William Barr Won't Recuse Himself From Mueller Probe

Attorney General William Barr will not recuse himself from overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into 2016 election meddling by the Russians, Bloomberg reports. “Following General Barr’s confirmation, senior career ethics officials advised that General Barr should not recuse himself from the special counsel’s investigation. Consistent with that advice, General Barr has decided not to recuse,” Kerri Kupec, a Justice Department spokeswoman, told Bloomberg. Barr, who was confirmed as AG last month, replaced Jeff Sessions in the role and relieved Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. Sessions recused himself from overseeing the probe due to his previous meeting with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, a move that prompted frequent criticism from President Trump. Whitaker did not recuse himself from overseeing the probe, and told reporters that the probe would be wrapping up soon. Barr—who also served as AG during George H. W. Bush's administration—told Congress that he was in “favor of as much transparency as there as can be” during his confirmation hearing but did not say whether he'd recuse himself or not.