President Donald Trump said Friday he thinks it would be
President Donald Trump said Friday he thinks it would be « appropriate » for him to talk to Attorney General William Barr about opening an investigation into Joe Biden, the current front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In an interview with Politico, Trump said he and Barr hadn’t considered an inquiry into his potential 2020 opponent – but he didn’t rule it out, either, saying « certainly it would be an appropriate thing to » discuss with Barr.
« Certainly it is a very big issue and we’ll see what happens, » he told the outlet. « I have not spoken to him about it. Would I speak to him about it? I haven’t thought of that. I mean, you’re asking me a question I just haven’t thought of. »
The suggestion that Trump would contemplate directing his Justice Department to investigate Biden drew condemnation from some legal experts, who said the idea smacked of an abuse of power.
« Does anyone doubt that this could have catastrophic consequences for democratic and electoral legitimacy? » said Susan Hennessey, executive editor of Lawfare, on Twitter.
