Former Attorney General Bill Barr accused former President Donald Trump of only having himself to blame for the indictment and also putting himself before the interests of the American people.
Barr, who served as part of the Trump administration, said his former boss participated in wrongdoing regarding his possession of over 300 classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home. Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump with 31 counts of allegedly violating the Espionage Act, along with six other counts on June 8.
The former attorney general said the Justice Department’s case on Trump’s obstruction charges is “very strong” given the evidence came from his own attorneys. He also told CBS’s “Face the Nation” he believes Trump lied to the Department of Justice about the documents and is mischaracterizing the Presidential Records Act.
“This is not a case where Trump is innocent and is being unfairly hounded. He committed the crime or if he did commit the crime, it’s not unfair to hold him to that standard,” Barr said.
He then brought up the issue of whether Trump is fit to lead the U.S. after allegedly committing these crimes. He also pointed out Republicans have raised a fair point that the Justice Department let Hillary Clinton “off the hook” for deleting classified information stored on her private email server and thus should do the same with Trump. (RELATED: Trump ‘Is Toast’ ‘If Even Half Of ‘ Charges Stick, Bill Barr Warns)
He warned Trump will always engage in “reckless conduct” if it means satisfying his “own interests” and “gratifying his own ego” ahead of the “country’s interest.”
“This is not just an isolated example. Trump has many good qualities and he accomplished some good things, but the fact of the matter is, he is a constant narcissist and he constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his political followers at risk, and the conservative Republican agenda at risk. He will always put his own interest and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country’s interest. There’s no question about it. This is a perfect example of that. He’s like a defiant nine-year-old kid who’s always pushing the glass toward the end of the table defying his parents to stop him from doing it.”
“It’s a means of self-assertion and exerting his dominance over other people and he’s a very petty individual who will always put his interests ahead of the country’s,” he continued.
Barr further noted Trump will likely face charges in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, but said he is “skeptical” it is a “sound case” since the former president has the right to condemn election results.