I mean, you know how this works and how the breakdown in this works. President s dont have any role in what a local district attorney, what case they bring thats normally true, and i dont im not suggesting biden is involved, but i think what theyre saying is that this former federal official whos gone up to try the case that this somehow shows a link. I dont know whether it do you i mean, you worked you were i Attorney General prosecutors leave and go work at other places all the time . Its right. I think the impetus for this came from the new york prosecutors. I think that theyre behind and not President Biden. I dont know. I dont know. But yeah. But you have no basis to believe that the president would be in charge of an investigation. Thats being brought by the manhattan district. I dont know i dont think hes in charge of plus two geisha, but politics, this is a political case. Your predecessor was brought up at the trial. Jeff sessions because david pecker, this National Enquirer tabloid king, he got concerned at one point when he got a letter from the fec and he called Michael Cohen, then trumps personal attorney to voice concern about that. Michael cohen told him not to worry because geoff sessions is the Attorney General and donald trump has him in his pocket. Did trump expect his ag to go easy on his friends i dont know. I dont know what he expected what was your experience . My experience was why the time i came in, he did not he did not push me to do one thing or another on these criminal cases. Now we tweeted and mavi, his public views on things known, but he never talked to me about them directly, so we did not have you in his pocket. He would argue its not a question of arguing. I did what i thought was right. And you never felt any direct pressure from him on what investigations the doj you did not directly pressure may as i say, he was out there tweeting and doing things that were embarrassing and made it hard for me to run the department that sounds like pressure wasnt pressure. It was just i mean, for example, i had decided that we were going to not agree to a sentence on stone that was three times longer than normal. And id already decided that. And then he was tweeting about stone. So it just made it harder to make the decision because it looks like you were acting on roger stones sentence. Would they were just talking about is this gag order and the alleged violations from the prosecutors here, they say its about 14. Its pretty clear if you read the gag order and then you look at what trump has been saying and posting about witnesses it says and even commenting on the jury here what does a judge due to deter him didnt do fines work. I mean, what what do you believe the judges options are here . Well, i personally think the gag order could be too broad here and and but i think trumps and ive said this before. I think trump basically has the kind of personality that hes always testing the limit. Hes always going further and further. And hes usually against the lines. So thats what gets him in trouble, and thats what creates all these cases like were seeing now in the Supreme Court, very fundamental case is about our constitution generally because of excess. But do you think theres anything to hes testing that. I mean, how does a judge stop that . I dont know. You mentioned the Supreme Court and those very important oral arguments that happened yesterday. It was really fascinating to listen to them. But at one point, his attorneys did concede that some of what jack smith has alleged and his indictment are private x, and they did concede private acts can be prosecuted. And your view does that mean that this case can move forward, at least in part no, i dont think the case could move forward. In part. I think that if smith thinks he can try the case entirely and establish criminal liability just on the basis of private acts. She could. But if he if he requires some official acts then he has a problem. I think the problem here is that the Government Smith saw at a very, you know, he, he had this broad position that there was no immunity for official acts and thats the basis on which it has gone up to the Supreme Court in both sides are arguing this of abstract general idea. Theres no immunity and then trumps people make it seem like theres immunity for everything. Even things that are not official acts like just if you use the military to do something somehow your immune because the instrumentality you use is federal stage a coup yeah, its ridiculous because the question is, is this something you were to do and have the duty to do it . The execute the law and so forth. The answer obviously is not the president does not have the authority to wage a coup against the constitution of the United States. He doesnt have authority to kill enemies. I mean, to kill rivals and so forth. Those are obviously acts that are not authorized or not required for it. Hamdan, to his jar so why are they why do you think theyre arguing this . Because theyre doubling down. It was first the Seal Team Six can assassinate a political rival yesterday was using the military to stage a coup. They said it would depend on the circumstances, whether it counted as an official act but i dont know why theyve taken those positions. I think the issue is whether or not the president is carrying out one of his duties and two and on the other hand, the extreme position taken by the government seems to be that you can be doing an official thing like firing the fbi director or Something Like that. Something clearly within your discretion. And yet you can be prosecuted for a crime depending on a prosecutor saying, well, you did it for an illegitimate purpose, and that would just open pandoras box. So well, i didnt hear the pro i didnt hear the attorney for the federal government arguing that, but what i did here, trumps attorneys arguing and this is something that youll know well about. Its trumps effort to install Jeffrey Clark as the acting Attorney General of the United States. And the point for why he wanted to do that was not just picking who he thought should be running the Justice Department after you left it was because clark was going to use the power of the federal government to pressure georgia lawmakers to overturn their legitimate results. I mean, is that an official act of the president of the United States . Well, thats going to be in that gray zone that theyre going to have to sort out. And thats why i feel its going to have to go back to the District Court was this was this the president s seeing that the laws were faithfully executed or was this a candidate trying to bully and press a state and the changing its vote when he knew that the vote had been against them. Well, you write asked to be sorted out. You were there. Which one do you believe it is . Im not going to you know, id have to see all the evidence and see the case litigated youre won a few people. I mean, you were there upfront and close and personal, was he bullying people and trying to get them to carry out his will . His personal will to stay in office or was he carrying out Election Integrity and making sure that the United States has fair election. I wasnt happy with the way he behaves after the election, but whether it was a crime is a different issue and that requires a government to have articulate the basis of the crime and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt some of these acts or gray acts, some of these its difficult to say whether he was acting as a candidate or as the top Law Enforcement officer. But which ones do you think are great because we you and i spoke right when this indictment came out and you thought it was a pretty good indictment, a pretty solid indictment was i believed the word i said was not it was not an abuse that they had the coherent syria. I said i didnt feel it was compelling, but it was coherent. I think the things that were i think are were private or the recruitment of the alternative slates and things like that that were to make clearly as a candidate but where you get into the gray zone is where he has an argument that, hey, im the president. I think this election was stolen. I am trying to see that the laws are faithfully executed and there has to be some precision as to what exact where exactly he crossed the line so when his attorney, who was seated right here last night was arguing that the fake slates of electors do constitute an official act. You disagree with that . I dont think they do i think he was doing that as a candidate. I dont see why its part of the president s official duties to recruit alternative slates to support him as a candidate. That seems to me to be a not an official act. When you see his attorneys kind of Brazenly Arguing about a Military Coup could be an a act that ordering Seal Team Six to assassinate a political rival could be an official act did those arguments undermine . The integrity of the Justice System i think the undermine the case because they were stupid examples in my opinion. So for example, when president obama sent a drone strike overseas and killed an american who was apparently in a terrorist complex that was legitimate. That was the president using his National Security powers that was within the scope of his responsibilities. But that doesnt mean a president gets to shoot drones at domestic enemies to eliminate them, just because theyre military equipment, they become an official act. President doesnt have the power to go around Killing Americans at will. I hear from a lot of republicans who defend trump saying, well thats a hypothetical, and thats ridiculous. But Alyssa Farah Griffin, who was Trumps Communications director, posted yesterday and said that you were present at a moment when trump suggested executing set the person who leaked information that he went to the white house bunker when theres George Floyd Protests were happening outside the white house. Do you remember that i remember and being very mad about that, i actually dont remember him saying executing, but i wouldnt dispute it you know, i mean, it doesnt sound the president would lose his temper and say things like that. I doubt it would have actually carried it out. I dont know. But he would say that on other occasions you said the president had i think people sometimes took them too literally and he would say things like similar to that in occasions to blow off steam but i wouldnt take them literally every time he did it. Why not . Because at the end of the de wouldnt be carried out and you could talk sense just because its not carried out and you could talk since into doesnt that still mean that the threat is there . No. I mean, i think i dont think the threat is there. I can i the thing that i worry about, President Trump is not that hes going to become an autocrat and do those kinds of things why not . Because i dont think he would the end of the day. Whats the basis for that . That that understanding that you have isnt just your own hunch thats my feeling. Having worked for him, seen him in action, i dont think he would actually go and kill political rivals and things like that. If the january 6 case, the election interference case, doesnt move forward before the election. Is that a mistake in your view if it doesnt move forward now, i mean, ive said earlier on, i would have liked to see that tried before the election, but i think its gotten too late, but you were talking about jack smith, what he charged, isnt some part that the responsibility what if the Supreme Court that they could have heard these arguments back in december, they chose not to. They could rule sooner. They may not rule until june. I mean, they have a role in this as well. No i think it was it was teed up for them and they acted very quickly to actually take the case quickly. And i think it hasnt been well prepared. I think that the Circuit Court didnt do its job. It should have sent it back for fuller record and i think the Supreme Court is doing the best they can under these circumstances. Attorney general, bill barr, ive a few more questions for you, so please stick around. Were going to take a quick commercial break and well be back in just a moment with a lot more, including what your former boss has been saying about you after a quick break up. Really big game i wiped away juggling his magic funder pelicans, celtics he covers begins tomorrow at 12 30. Nba playoffs presented by google pixel. Well round one coverage presented by Nerdwallet On Tiantai we are in a Limestone Cave letting extreme residue bill got to put finished jet dry to the Test Dishwashers are designed to use jet dry too band against top residues for are practically spotlights, shine pain means pause on the things youd love. But greene, me go cool the pain with bio free and keep on going bio freeze. 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Now talking with former trump Attorney General, bill barr and great to have you here last time, you and i spoke, we had drawn to show you told me that you would jump off the bridge when it came to it on who you were going to support the 2024 election. It appears that you have jumped off that bridge because you said recently, you were going to vote for the republican ticket come november which means youre going to vote for donald trump i said thats what i plan to do at this stage. Youre saying you could change your mind, maybe. Im not going to vote for biden. And this is a wild time who knows whats going to happen seven months, but i expect as between trump and biden, theres no question in my mind. So youre kind of suggesting maybe donald trump may not be the republican nominee or biden may not be there a democrat or for another democrat if a different democrat was on the ticket, its hard to imagine that this party, that Progressive Democratic party would nominate someone i would support. Yeah, i know you disagree with them, but i had to ask you, its something that trump posted what you this week because he responded in response to you saying youd vote for the republican ticket wow, former ag bill barr who led a lot of great people down by not investigating voter fraud in our country has just endorsed me for president , despite the fact that i call him, called him week flow. Moving, lethargic, got less and lazy based on the fact that i greatly appreciate his wholehearted endorsement i am removing the word lethargic from my statement. Thank you. Bill yeah.