MSNBC host Chris Matthews slammed Attorney General Barr for being a “hit-man” for President Trump in launching an investigation into the origins of the Russia probe.
On Tuesday, host Matthews unloaded on AG Barr and his handling of special counsel Mueller’s investigation during “Hardball,” accusing him of trying to “destroy the FBI” in order to protect President Trump.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, a guest on the MSNBC show, also agreed with Chris Matthews, and added his own description of AG Barr as a “fixer” and “protector” of President Trump following reports that AG Barr had appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham to investigate the investigators.
It has been reported that Durham has been working on the investigation “for weeks” and, despite the President denying that he asked AG Barr to appoint the federal prosecutor, host Matthews accused AG Barr of doing just what Trump wanted.
“No, I didn’t ask him to do that. I didn’t know it,” President Trump told reporters on Tuesday outside the White House. “I think it’s a great thing that he did it.”
“Well, even if Trump didn’t discuss it with the Attorney General, he wouldn’t have needed to do since he’s been calling for it. He’s been calling for that inquiry for many occasions,” host Matthews declared. “It’s an embarrassment to have an attorney general who looks like a Roy Cohn, a guy who will do anything to defend the president and now has become his hit-man.”
“Not only will he play defense, he’s out to destroy the government, the FBI, everything in order to cover the tracks of the president,” he continued.
“What do you make of this guy and how can you stop Barr from doing what he’s out to do now, destroy the FBI?” Host Matthews asked Castro, a Democrat from the House Intelligence Committee.
“Barr is a very quiet and somewhat unassuming guy in his demeanor, but really he’s been a fixer for the President and a protector,” the Texas Democrat stated. “I think the reason they’re opening this investigation is because they want to chill anybody else from looking into anything else that the President does.”
MSNBC host Matthews interjected to ask about AG Barr’s allegations that the FBI was “spying.”
“What do you make of the fact that the Attorney General of the United States refers to the FBI, which is under his supervision in the chain of command, as a spying operation, it was spying on the Trump campaign?” the MSNBC host asked. “He likes that word. It’s Trump’s word, it’s now his word.”
Castro found it “remarkable” but concluded that “this wasn’t a case of spying, this was an investigation.”
“It would be the most derelict of things if the FBI had good information that a presidential candidate for his campaign or her campaign was working with a foreign government and did absolutely nothing to investigate it,” Castro replied. “In some ways, that would be an even bigger scandal, if we found out that they had solid information about that and didn’t lift a finger to protect the country.”
On Monday, Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham that AG Barr’s move to assign the special ‘bulldog’ prosecutor to investigate the probe is an indication that he thinks something criminal took place and that Demos should be “quite worried.”
AG Barr is reportedly working “collaboratively” on the investigation with FBI Director Chris Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, according to Fox News and Durham is also working directly with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
