A source familiar with the situation confirmed to CNN that Barr is not happy with Trump, writing that Barr “is not someone who takes bullying and turns the other cheek! He has not made a final decision,” the source said.
The New York Times was first to report on Barr’s thinking. CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
President Trump had a contentious and lengthy meeting last week with Barr after the attorney general publicly announced the Justice Department had found no evidence of widespread election fraud. On Thursday, Trump refused to say whether he had lost confidence in Barr, a sign the AG had fallen out of favor with Trump.
The Washington Post is reporting that sources close to the attorney general also are saying that Barr actually brought up the subject of resigning shortly after Election Day when it became obvious that Trump had lost to Joe Biden. Before the election, Barr had told friends that if Trump won, he would like to stay on as attorney general for some time in the second term.
Barr first served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush ( 1991 to 1993) and stayed in that position until the administration’s final week in office. Barr is the third attorney general for the Trump administration, taking office in February 2019,
Jeff Sessions served as Attorney General from February 2017 until November 2018. Matthew Whitaker served as the acting attorney general from November 2018, after Sessions was dismissed, until February 2019, when Barr took office.
Barr’s controversial tenure
While Barr’s appointment to the office of attorney general was initially hailed by many former justice department officials, believing he would hold up the integrity of the Justice Department and protect it, things went downhill quickly.
Barr’s handling of the Mueller special counsel investigation of Trump advisers and Russian interference in the 2016 election, as well as his recent castigation of career employees in the department, has soured just about everyone. Barr has been accused of becoming Trump’s “personal lawyer” – a violation of the separation of powers afforded by the Constitution.