Attorney General William Barr, Weeks of Work, Brand: NPR

Attorney General William Barr has been in office for just 10 weeks, but after leading the Department of Justice, he has already managed to put his mark on the spot.

In the long run, Barr's mandate may be judged based on the report of the special council on Russian interference in the elections – a performance that a New York Times book critic recently compared to a "fog velvet".

The Attorney General has taken up the leitmotiv used by President Trump throughout the investigation on Russia: "No collusion".

The Democrats in Congress have been abrupt: they accuse Barr of misleading the findings of the special advocate Robert Mueller and acting as President Trump 's defense attorney, and not the highest US legal manager.

However, when Barr testifies Wednesday before the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee, President Lindsey Graham of South Carolina will likely attempt to help the Attorney General turn the page on this story.

Graham said he hoped the Justice Ministry officials would investigate the origins of the investigation into Russia, which Barr recently declared involved in "spying" the Trump campaign .

Jerry Nadler, the representative of the House Judiciary Committee, is likely to welcome much more heat to Barr when the Attorney General appears Thursday at this panel – if negotiators can comment on Barr's conditions.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota who runs for president, told NBC Meet the press On Sunday, she thought the Attorney General still had a lot to do with Congress.

"It's not just about the Mueller report and what's happening in Russia," Klobuchar said.

"It's about what's happening with immigration, the Affordable Care Act, where millions and millions of Americans – over 50% of them – fear losing coverage due to pre-existing conditions. [Barr] must come to Congress and explain what this administration does in the world when it comes to people's daily lives. "

To date, a review of Barr's record shows how much he wants to get the department on some of these other priorities.

Immigration

Earlier this month, Barr issued an order that could keep thousands of asylum seekers in detention pending their case being heard by immigration courts.

As Attorney General, Barr exercised his prerogative by overturning the 2005 policy that applies to persons who claim to suffer a "credible fear of torture or persecution" if they are returned to their home country. .

This decision follows other drastic measures adopted by the Trump administration to try to dissuade undocumented immigrants from entering the United States.

Barr's Justice Department recently released a report on the "number of foreigners incarcerated in federal, state and local institutions" as a result of a 2017 decree signed by President Trump.

The report indicates that nearly half of undocumented immigrants held by the Bureau of Prisons have engaged in drug or drug-related crime. About 4% committed weapons offenses and 3% were convicted of racketeering or "criminal offenses of persistent criminal acts", including personal murders.

Opioids

In recent weeks, federal prosecutors have announced a number of new cases involving health professionals and business leaders who have fueled the opioid crisis.

First, about 60 doctors, pharmacists and others operating in the affected Appalachian regions were trapped. These cases involve more than 350,000 prescriptions of controlled substances and more than 32 million pills – the equivalent of a dose of opioids for "every man, woman, and child" in Ohio. , Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and West Virginia.

Second, the US District Attorney in the Southern District of New York charged a drug distribution company and his former executive director with conspiracy to distribute narcotic drugs for medical reasons and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The former CEO, Laurence Doud III, is fighting the charges.

Health care

In a rare note of disagreement with the White House, Attorney General Barr has expressed his disagreement with the President's decision to waive the defense of a part of the Affordable Care Act, the signing policy of the Obama administration.

But even though Barr and White House lawyers have privately expressed skepticism over the victory of Trump's approach to the courts, the Attorney General has not publicly contradicted Trump's thesis or threatened to resign from his opposition.

Julie Rovner, health policy expert, said in the NPR weekend edition, last month, that the DOJ's approach certainly opens the prospect of a court decision that would say that there could no longer be any protection for people with pre-existing conditions health law. "

Style

Like the president he serves, the Attorney General seemed comfortable with the rhetoric that borders on confrontation – and he does not like to back down.

For example, after Barr declared that there was "spying" on the Trump campaign at a congressional hearing this year, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii offered him the opportunity to rephrase his About. Barr shrugged.

After criticizing his four-page letter to lawmakers containing the "key findings" of the special council, Mr. Barr was largely deflected by drawing attention to the issues themselves.

"I do not know what you're saying to say I'm generous with the president," Barr told a reporter.