How Barr Controls the Fate of the Mueller Report

Time: “More than politics is at stake in how Barr handles the close of the Mueller probe. The reputation of the Department of Justice, attacked on the one hand for two years by the President who leads it and on the other by Democrats with oversight authority on Capitol Hill, hangs on the Attorney General. So too does the balance of power between the White House and Congress…. What’s clear is that Barr is making history. He alone will decide, on the basis of his experience, beliefs and personality, how this consequential chapter of the Trump presidency plays out.”

“In normal circumstances, Attorney General is one of the most difficult jobs in government… And these are not normal circumstances. Barr inherited an agency battered by the President, beset by scandals and facing challenges ranging from the Mueller report to criminal-justice reform and immigration enforcement… The Attorney General, who had to be talked into taking the job, will have a big role in shaping the presidency of the man who hired him.”