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Former Attorney General William Barr argues he wasn't a 'toady' to Trump in memoir

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

In a new memoir, former Attorney General William Barr is defending his time in office. Barr tells our colleague Steve Inskeep that he refuted Trump's lies about the election he lost in 2020.

WILLIAM BARR: He didn't seem to listen to anybody except a group of sycophants who were telling him what was - what he wanted to hear.

STEVE INSKEEP, BYLINE: We're talking about Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell.

BARR: People like the...

INSKEEP: Pillow guy.

BARR: Yeah, a lot of people on the outside and some people on the inside.

CHANG: Barr said publicly in 2020 that the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread fraud.

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

But on other issues, he agrees with the ex-president. He defends decisions in favor of Trump or his allies, like dropping charges against a former national security adviser.

BARR: The times I intervened in a case that was politically charged, it was to do the right thing. It was to stop an abuse. The...

INSKEEP: Do you mean like dismissing the charges against Mike Flynn?

BARR: Yeah, that was an abuse. That was an abuse.

INSKEEP: Why was it an abuse? He lied to the FBI.

BARR: Well, it's - you know, he pled that he lied to the FBI...

INSKEEP: He admitted it. Yes.

BARR: ...As part of a plea deal, which was one of the reasons I was reluctant to get involved in it.

MCCAMMON: Barr argues against what he called the criminalization of politics, turning disagreements into investigations.

CHANG: His memoir also blames progressives, not Trump, for dividing the country. In short, Barr insists he sided with Trump so often not because he was a, quote, "toady" but because the two of them agreed. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.