Trump attorney general pick does not think Mueller investigation is a ‘witch hunt’, says top Republican

William Barr will let inquiry be completed, says senator Lindsey Graham

Donald Trump’s new pick to be attorney general does not believe Robert Muller’s investigation is a “witch hunt” and will allow him to complete the probe, a top Republican has said.

The president has repeatedly denounced the special counsel’s inquiry into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election, and whether there was collusion with the Trump campaign, as a “witch hunt”. His comments have long triggered concerns he would try and shut down the investigation.

But senator Lindsey Graham told reporters that after a meeting with William Barr, the legal veteran nominated by Mr Trump to be his attorney general, he had been assured the special counsel’s probe would go ahead.

“I can assure you he has a very high opinion of Mr Mueller and he is committed to letting Mr Mueller finish his job,” Mr Graham said.

Mr Graham, who is expected to chair the Senate’s judiciary committee, met with Mr Barr for about 20 minutes on Wednesday, a week before the nominee’s confirmation hearing is due to take place.

“I asked him if he thinks Mr Mueller is on a witch hunt, and he said, ‘No’. I asked him if he thought Mr Mueller would be fair to the president and the country as a whole, and he said, ‘Yes’,” Mr Graham said. “He said he will make sure Mr Mueller finishes the job.”

Mr Barr, 68, who worked in the administration of Ronald Reagan and served as attorney general for two years under George HW Bush, was nominated for the position after Mr Trump last November fired Jeff Sessions, whom the president had spent a year criticising. Mr Sessions’ chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, was appointed to serve as attorney general in an acting capacity, rather than Mr Session’s deputy, Rod Rosenstein.

On Wednesday it was reported Mr Rosenstein, who oversaw Mr Mueller’s probe after Mr Sessions recused himself from the task – something that infuriated Mr Trump – intends to stand down soon after Mr Barr is confirmed as the country’s most senior legal and law enforcement official.

While there has been no official statement from the Department of Justice (DoJ) or the White House, US media, quoting anonymous Trump administration officials, said Mr Rosenstein would not stay on.

The Associated Press said while it was usual for an attorney general to pick their own deputy, Mr Rosenstein’s departure was noteworthy given his high-profile role overseeing Mr Mueller’s probe. Like Mr Sessions, Mr Rosenstein also had a twisting relationship with the president, and last September went to the White House expecting to be fired.

Mr Graham’s committee will hold confirmation hearings for Mr Barr on 15 January, and 16 January for Mr Barr. Last month, Chuck Schumer, the Democrats’ leader in the Senate, said that a memo Mr Barr had written criticising Mr Mueller’s investigation should disqualify him from serving as attorney general.

Mr Barr, who will take charge of the investigation if confirmed by the senate, sent the unsolicited memo to the DoJ last year. In it, he said the part of Mr Mueller’s investigation that sought to examine whether Mr Trump had obstructed justice when he fired the FBI director James Comey was “fatally misconceived”.

“Mueller should not be able to demand that the president submit to an interrogation about alleged obstruction,” Mr Barr wrote in the 20-page note. “If embraced by the department, this theory would have potentially disastrous implications, not just for the presidency, but for the executive branch as a whole and the department in particular.”