Bill Barr has said that he believes Donald Trump could face another criminal indictment – this time in connection to the classified documents found at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Mr Barr, who served as attorney general under the Trump administration, spoke out on Sunday following Mr Trump’s indictment on criminal charges in New York.
Mr Trump pled not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records during his arraignment in Manhattan on Tuesday 4 April.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg‘s office said that Mr Trump falsified the business records “in order to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election”.
The charges are connected to hush money payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal who both alleged to have had affairs with Mr Trump.
In an interview on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Mr Barr said that he thinks Mr Trump is facing more legal trouble in the federal probe looking into his handling of classified documents than in the hush money case in New York.
Speaking about Mr Bragg’s case, Mr Barr said: “I don’t think it has any merit. I think it is transparently an abuse of prosecutorial power to accomplish a political end.
“I’d be most concerned about the documents at Mar-a-Lago. I think that’s a serious potential case. I think they probably have some very good evidence.”
Mr Barr mentioned the lengthy interaction between Mr Trump and the government when the former president resisted authorities’ attempts to get him to return classified files – prompting the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago last year.
“I think he was jerking the government around and they subpoenaed it, and they tried to jawbone him into delivering the documents,” Mr Barr said.
“But the government is investigating the extent to which games were played and there was obstruction and keeping the documents from them.”
Mr Barr pointed out the difference in Mr Trump’s handling of classified documents compared to both his former vice president Mike Pence and Mr Biden, after classified documents were also found in their possession.
The former attorney general noted that Mr Pence and Mr Biden both informed the government immediately upon discovering the files, whereas Mr Trump attempted to hold on to them.
“Before they found the documents in Biden’s house and Vice President Pence’s house, my read was that they were going to indict [Mr Trump] and I still think there’s a very good chance of that,” he said.
“I think it depends on how sensitive the documents were, but also what evidence they have of obstruction and games playing for the president and whether he directed people to lie or gave them information that was deceitful to pass on to the government.”
As for the hush money case, Mr Barr said it may be a boon to Mr Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign – something which could actually also help the Democratic party.
The two-time attorney general said it “may accomplish his purpose, which is to get into the middle of the Republican primary process and turn it into a circus”.
“And I think, ultimately, the savvy Democratic strategists know this is going to help Trump, and they want him to be the nominee because he is the weakest of the Republican candidates and the most likely to lose again to [President Joe] Biden,” Mr Barr added.
Mr Trump’s Truth Social attacks on Mr Bragg and the judge overseeing the hush money case in Manhattan could also land the former president with more problems, Mr Barr added.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate or wise. The president notoriously lacks self-control, and he frequently gets himself into trouble with these midnight tweets and other things,” he said of Mr Trump’s social media posts.
“These are gratuitous comments and aren’t particularly helpful,” he added.
Following Mr Barr’s interview, Mr Trump took to Truth Social to hit out at his former attorney general.
“Slovenly and pathetic Bill Barr, our COWARD former A.G., was on ABC FAKE NEWS this weekend making statements that he knows nothing about (he was long since gone from the White House, I wanted him out!) concerning the BOXES HOAX, a continuation of RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, the Mueller Witch Hunt, & more,” he fumed on Monday morning.
“While he correctly puts down the N.Y.D.A. case, he plays up the equally ridiculous BOXES HOAX, where Biden should have the problem, not me. Barr is a weak & angry RINO!”
Aside from the New York hush money case, Mr Trump is currently at the centre of three criminal investigations.
He’s being investigated in connection to the insurrection on January 6 2021, the classified documents found in Florida, and his attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Mr Biden was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state of Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Mr Trump has denied all wrongdoing in the cases.
