Stop tweeting and let me do my job, US attorney-general Bill Barr tells President Trump (2024)

The US attorney-general called for President Trump to stop tweeting about court cases, judges and prosecutors, saying that the social media posts were making it impossible for him to do his job.

Bill Barr, widely seen as a Trump loyalist, spoke out after the president repeatedly tweeted about his displeasure with the conviction and sentencing proposal for his friend Roger Stone, causing an outcry over interference in the judicial process.

The rare criticism from Mr Barr came as the president moved to enhance his re-election team in the White House by bringing back Hope Hicks, a former close adviser who served on his 2016 campaign team.

Ms Hicks, 31, a former model who has spent the past two years as director of communications at Fox, will join a transformed inner circle. Of the 65 top White House jobs, 53 have changed hands at least once, the highest level of executive office churn in recent times.

Mr Barr, 69, appointed a year ago, has been frequently praised by Mr Trump and was gaining a reputation for slavishly following White House wishes.

However, he spoke out yesterday after Mr Trump continued his criticism of the treatment of Stone, 67, who was found guilty in November of obstructing an investigation by Congress into Russian election interference, lying to investigators under oath and trying to block the testimony of a witness.

The president has already criticised the judge and prosecutors before sentencing next week and this time went after the jury. “Now it looks like the foreperson in the jury, in the Roger Stone case, had significant bias. Add that to everything else, and this is not looking good for the ‘Justice’ Department,” Mr Trump tweeted.

Mr Barr told ABC News: “I have a problem with some of the tweets. I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases.”

Mr Trump praised Mr Barr on Twitter for “taking charge” of the case, leading to claims that he was acting for the president rather than the country. The attorney-general insisted that they never discussed it.

“I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody . . . whether it’s Congress, a newspaper editorial board or the president,” Mr Barr said. “I’m going to do what I think is right. And you know . . . I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.”

He added: “I’m happy to say that, in fact, the president has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case. However, to have public statements and tweets made about the department . . . make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors in the department that we’re doing our work with integrity.”

Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for the White House, said that Mr Trump had “full faith” in Mr Barr. “The president wasn’t bothered by the comments at all,” she said. “President Trump uses social media very effectively to fight for the American people against injustices in our country, including the fake news.”

However, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said that Mr Trump should consider listening to Mr Barr’s advice. “I think if the attorney-general says it’s getting in the way of doing his job, maybe the president should listen to the attorney-general,” he told Fox News.

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, said that Mr Trump’s comments about Mr Stone amounted to interference in the US judiciary. “This is an abuse of power — that the president is again trying to manipulate federal law enforcement to serve his political interest,” she said. “This is not what America is about. It is so wrong.”

Stone is due to be sentenced by a district court judge next Thursday.

Ms Hicks returns as an aide to Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law, who is overseeing the White House re-election efforts. She has been given the title counsellor to the president.

She left her role of communications director in February 2018 after admitting that she told “white lies” on behalf of Mr Trump on matters related to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

Mr Trump launched an attack yesterday on another of his high-profile departures, John Kelly, who quit as chief-of-staff in January last year, saying he “just can’t keep his mouth shut”. Mr Kelly had defended Alexander Vindman, a former White House security official, for reporting his concerns about Mr Trump’s call to the Ukrainian president last July that led to his impeachment trial.

Related articles