Former attorney general says Trump is doing himself no favors by attacking judge
Former Attorney General William Barr said Sunday he thought the case for which President Donald Trump has been indicted is deeply flawed, but also said Trump has acted imprudently in attacking the judge and others in the case.
"I don't think it is appropriate or wise. The president notoriously lacks self-control and he frequently gets himself into trouble,” Barr said on ABC’s “This Week” about Trump's attacks on Judge Juan Merchan and members of his family, as well as the judicial process.
Barr did agree with Trump and his allies who say the criminal case brought in New York by District Attorney Alvin Bragg is very weak. Trump was arraigned Tuesday on 34 felony counts relating to a hush-money payment to a porn star during the 2016 election season.
“I don’t think it has any merit,” Barr said of the case. “I think it is transparently an abuse of prosecutorial power to accomplish a political end. I think it is an unjust case. That’s not say that every legal challenge that the president faces is unjustified. But this one especially is.”
Barr said other possible cases against Trump could have legitimacy, especially one concerning classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.
“He’s dug himself a hole on the documents,” Barr said in stating he thinks Trump could be indicted in that case, which is being investigated by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
“I think he was jerking the government around,” Barr told host Jonathan Karl about Trump’s handling of classified documents after his presidency.
Either way, Barr said he expects Trump’s legal woes will drag out throughout the 2024 election season, to Trump’s advantage during the primaries as Republicans rally around him — but disadvantage in the general election.
“He’s already a weak candidate, I think, that would lose, but I think this sort-of assures it,” Barr said.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor and potential 2024 GOP candidate, said he agreed that Trump will not be helped in the general election by his legal troubles.
“No matter what he says and his people say, being indicted is not good for a political candidate,” Christie said later on "This Week."
Barr served as attorney general under Trump in 2019-2020 after having done so under President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. During his tenure in the Trump administration, he criticized Trump for his tendency to tweet about active criminal cases.
"I think it's time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases," he said in February 2020.