Former President Trump ridiculed his former attorney general, William Barr, in a letter to NBC News anchor Lester Holt over the weekend.
“I made many great appointments during my Administration, and we accomplished more than most Administrations could even dream of, but Bill Barr was not one of my better picks,” Trump wrote. “He crumbled under the pressure, and bowed to the Radical Left—And that is not acceptable. Now he is groveling for the media, hoping to gain acceptance that he doesn’t deserve.”
The former president’s comments come days after Barr granted an extensive interview to Holt and NBC. Trump’s letter, sent to the anchor at the network’s studios in Manhattan, was first obtained by Axios.
Holt and the NBC News team had apparently asked Trump and his representatives for comment on a number of the statements Barr made during his sit-down interview with the anchor, which comes as the former head of the Justice Department promotes a new book about his time spent in Trump’s administration.
“With respect to prosecuting political rivals, it was just the opposite,” Trump said in one of his responses. “Despite the many crimes committed by the Biden family, I did not push Barr to go after them. While the things done were legendarily corrupt, I thought it would be inappropriate for me to get personally involved.”
During an interview on NBC’s “Today” show Monday morning, Barr called Trump’s letter “par for the course.”
“The president is a man who, when he is told something, he doesn’t want to hear, he immediately throws a tantrum,” Barr added.
Last week, Barr told Holt said he believes Trump was responsible “in a broad sense” for the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when the former president’s supporters stormed the Capitol.
“I think the whole idea was to intimidate Congress, and I think that that was wrong,” Barr said.
After portions of the interview aired late last week, Trump lashed out at Barr, calling him “weak” and “ineffective.”
“Former Attorney General Bill Barr wouldn’t know voter fraud if it was staring him in the face – and it was,” Trump said.
— Updated at 7:55 a.m.