What is the power of the president? Barr hearing to test a fundamental question

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If the latter succeeds, he will assume the role of lightning conductor by supervising the most serious investigation record in decades and becoming a president in office who has long defied legal norms and constitutional restrictions.

"The rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the law of the Justice Department are of great concern," said Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware during the conference call with reporters.

"We have a president who almost daily reviews the FBI and the Department of Justice, especially the Mueller investigation.We have a president whose campaign director, national security advisor and personal prosecutor have all pleaded guilty and were charged with or found guilty of crimes related to their conduct, either on the campaign or with the support of President Trump and his commercial activities, "he said.

"This is not a typical or common context in which" We have a confirmation hearing regarding a Attorney General, "added Coons.

Although Barr is not to blame for the political storm who has raged around the audience, his own convictions and his paperwork during a long legal career are also controversial.

His belief in a controversial doctrine of strong executive power and his doubts about the viability of indicting a president for obstruction of justice has put him in conflict with many critics of Trump, despite the respect of his powers for a second term as Attorney General. "19659002] Every Attorney General must respond to the It is an enigma to find a balance between the objectives and political actions of a White House and the tensions that can sometimes arise, and to challenge the rule of law and the rule of law. independence of the Ministry of Justice.

For Barr, these issues may be more extreme than for any recent predecessor, at least since fiercely disputed legal decisions have been made regarding the treatment of terrorist suspects and the executive in the dark days after 9/11.

In two years as President, Trump has almost constantly tested Washington's standards and the supposed limits of his position. He excised his former Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, for his challenge as a result of the investigation into Russia and hammered the Justice Department and the FBI on what he sees as a "hunt for witches ". He frequently opposes judges who block his goals.

He demands the loyalty of his subordinates, seeming to regard the Department of Justice as a white-collar law firm that should protect him and pursue his adversaries, rather than the body put in place to ensure a fair administration of the law. The rule of law and respect for the Constitution.

These questions will be at the center of the first interrogations of the Democratic opposition during Tuesday morning's hearing.

Chas Witch Hunt? & # 39;

Recent indications that the White House seeks to conceal the details of any final report containing a series of aggressive privilege claims [19459032] have given increased relevance to the question of how will the Mueller investigation end. In its apparent attempt to defuse some of the most volatile issues, Barr issued a written testimony Monday promising that the special council would be allowed to complete its investigation and that the public and Congress deserved to know the results in accordance with the rule of law.

Barr's involvement left much room for interpretation, particularly with respect to the degree of "transparency" required by law – a gray area that Democratic Senators will try to print. Tuesday.

But he also promised that "where judgments are to be rendered by me, I will base those judgments solely on the rule of law and I will not allow any personal, political or other abusive interest to influence my decision".

Barr also noted that he had known Mueller for 30 years, that they were friends and that he had welcomed Mueller's appointment.

"I had confidence that he would handle the situation properly, I still have that confidence today," he said.

Barr's statement is remarkable given that Trump spent months trying to discredit Mueller, calling the FBI's Monday investigation a "super big hoax" and a "deep state" effort to Washington to invalidate his election.

[19659009ThePresidenthasnotyetrespondedtotheevidencebutBarrwillhaveknownthathewouldbeindangerofalienatingthePresidentfromtheoutsetgivenhistreatmentofthesessionsandmeetingsotherseniorofficialsoftheFBIandtheDepartmentofJustice

The first demonstrations of independence could also offer Barr, a veteran operator in Washington, more leeway to interpret his duty of transparency on the Mueller report in a way that some Trump critics might put back in. cause.

John McGinnis, a Deputy Attorney General of Barr while he was head of the Legal Counsel Office of the Department of Justice, stated that his reputation and his personal situation as a well-paid corporate officer make He is an ideal candidate for a difficult political moment.

"(He) holds a pretty powerful position in that he does not really need this work," said McGinnis, now professor of constitutional law at the Pritzker School at Northwestern University .

"If the president asks him to do something that he thinks is illegal, he can resign, and in that sense he has a fairly significant influence on the fact that some young people looking for the next job after the Attorney General (and) do not want to have the reputation of being a troublemaker (are not) in this position ",

" This structure, I would say, should give assurance that the Attorney General does not will not do anything that he thinks is a bad deal with the president, "added McGinnis.

Testing the Guardians of Democracy

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The experience and personality of Barr might well mean that he will not meet the kind of questions that other candidates to Trump's administration have had to deal with their qualifications for the jobs they're looking for.

But many Democrats, already frightened by Trump, frequently rubbing shoulders with Mr. Barr is concerned about Barr's earlier writings, which expresses his firm support for an almost unhindered executive power. By an Attorney General whose interpretation of executive power is more limited.

The fact that Barr admits in the memo that he was" in the ignorance of many facts "has led some critics to consider his arguments as a political move that might have been motivated by the desire to Promoting a return to justice, where he served President George HW Bush as Attorney General.

In his testimony and in a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the highest Democrat sitting on the Judiciary Committee, Barr attempted to put an end to the controversy over the memory [19659002] He pointed out that he was discussing a specific theory about a single law that he thought he could examine through Mueller.

"The memo did not address – or question – the Special Prosecutor's main inquiry Mr. Barr wrote in his testimony that the Russian interference in the 2016 Russian intervention

"It also did not deal with other potential theories on obstruction of justice, nor argued, as some have wrongly suggested, that a president can never to obstruct justice, "he added.

Tuesday's hearing will be the first opportunity for the Senate Judiciary Committee to capture the attention of the national public, who will is fragmented into a bitter acrimony over the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court last year.

Democratic presidential candidates 2020, such as Sense Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and California's Kamala Harris will seize the opportunity to impress Liberals activists

Barr's tough views on criminal justice – a problem in which legal and political thought has calmed since his last term as Attorney General – is directly linked to a key issue for candidates Democrats.

His positions on civil rights, LGBTQ equality and immigration – are consistent with those of a conservative. Republican of the 1980s and 1990s – could also provoke explosive exchanges with Democrats on issues that lead to the transformation of their party.