President Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews Tuesday that he agrees with Attorney General Bill Barr’s assessment that the President’s tweets make it impossible for him to do his job.
During an interview with ABC News Thursday, Barr said that Trump should stop tweeting about the Justice Department because his tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job.” Barr also denied that he was compelled to reduce Roger Stone’s sentencing recommendation after Trump congratulated him in a tweet for “taking charge” of Stone’s case.
Trump was quick to agree when asked by a reporter Tuesday about whether his tweets make it difficult for Barr to do his job in a way that appears impartial.
“I do make his job harder, yes, I do agree with that. I think that’s true,” Trump said. “He’s a very straight shooter. We have a great attorney general and he’s working very hard. He’s working against a lot of people that don’t want to see good things happen, in my opinion. That’s my opinion, not his opinion. You’ll have to ask what his opinion is.”
Trump then added that social media has been “very important” to him because “it gives me a voice” that he doesn’t get in the media.
When asked if he makes it hard for Barr to do his job with integrity, Trump said “oh yeah” given how Barr is “a man with incredible integrity.”
“Just so you understand, I chose not to be involved,” Trump said. “I’m allowed to be totally involved. I’m actually, I guess, the chief law enforcement officer of the country. But I’ve chosen not to be involved. But he is a man of great integrity. But I could be involved if I wanted to be.”
After confirming that he pardoned Bernie Carrick and Mike Milken, Trump went on to claim that he hasn’t thought about pardoning Stone.
“I haven’t given it any thought,” Trump said. “In the meantime he’s going through a process, but I think he’s been treated very unfairly.”
Watch Trump’s remarks below:
Trump says he makes Barr's job harder and that he hasn't given Roger Stone's pardon any thought pic.twitter.com/vNhkZiCCft
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 18, 2020
