Wyden thumbs-down on new attorney general pick

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement on Donald Trump’s announcement he will nominate William Barr to serve as Attorney General:

“Donald Trump is nominating a man whose writings endorse the antidemocratic notion that the president is effectively royalty, unaccountable to laws, the Constitution, or constraint by Congress.

“William Barr has defended the firing of FBI Director James Comey, backed Trump’s calls for investigations of political rivals, supported unconstitutional surveillance of Americans, opposed Roe vs. Wade, and advocated for the use of torture. As Attorney General, he rubber-stamped pardons for key figures involved the secret, illegal sale of weapons to Iran.

“These views would be unacceptable under normal circumstances; when combined with Donald Trump’s constant attempts to end-run the law, they are potentially disastrous.

“On top of his troubling history, Barr must answer questions about whether Donald Trump demanded his loyalty, or extracted promises about constraining Robert Mueller’s investigation as a condition of being nominated. A failure to fully answer those questions will be disqualifying.”