Former Attorney General Bill Barr warned Sunday on Fox News the charges against former President Donald Trump — if “even half” true — could be disastrous for the former president.
Trump announced the indictment Thursday ahead of the official indictment being unsealed Friday. The charges against Trump include 31 counts of alleged violation of the Espionage Act or the willful retention of national security information, as well as one count of “conspiracy to obstruct justice,” one count of “withholding a documents or record,” one count of corruptly concealing a document or record,” one count of “concealing a document in a deferral investigation,” one count of “scheme to conceal” and one count of “false statements and representations.”
Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy laid out an argument Friday that the obstruction charges are the “crux” of the case.
Barr concurred with McCarthy, warning Trump could be “toast.”
“If even half of it is true, then he’s toast. I mean, it’s a very detailed indictment and it’s very, very damning.” (RELATED: ‘For Goodness Sake!’: Jim Jordan Breaks Down Major ‘Flaw’ In Argument Against Trump)
Barr also criticized the claim that Trump is being politically targeted.
“And this idea of presenting Trump as a victim here, or a victim of a witch hunt, is ridiculous,” Barr said. “Yes, he’s been a victim in the past. Yes, his adversaries have obsessively pursued him with phony claims. And I’ve been at his side defending against them when he is a victim. But this is much different. He’s not a victim here. He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets the country has. They have to be in custody of the Archivist. He had no right to maintain them and retain them.”
Trump spoke out after Barr’s testimony, saying Barr is a “lowlife” who was fired for being “gutless.”
“He’s a coward who didn’t do his job,” Trump said during a WABC interview with Roger Stone. “Bill Barr was a mistake.”