in U.S. history is now in the hands of this man:

Attorney General William Barr.

“Bill Barr, one of the most respected jurists

in the country. Highly respected lawyer.”

President Trump nominated Barr for the position

last December.

That was after he fired Barr's predecessor, Jeff Sessions.

For months, Trump had been seething

at Sessions' decision to recuse himself

from the Mueller investigation.

“The attorney general says, 'I'm going to recuse myself.'”

“The attorney general made a terrible mistake.”

“I'm disappointed in the attorney general

for many reasons, and you understand that.”

So where does Barr stand on the special counsel's probe?

That was a recurring question

during his confirmation hearing.

“Do you believe Mr. Mueller would be involved

in a witch hunt against anybody?”

“Will you commit to making any report

Mueller produces available to Congress and to the public?”

“Are there any circumstances

that would cause you to terminate the investigations?”

Democrats have voiced concern that he might try

and quash Robert Mueller's findings.

“And I asked him: Would he issue the full Mueller report?

He would not give that assurance.“

But Barr played that down.

“I believe it is vitally important

that the special counsel be allowed to complete

his investigation.”

It's also worth noting that Barr and Mueller

have been friends for 30 years.

So how do Barr and Trump get along?

We don't know much, but the now-attorney general

told Congress that he he was once approached

to be part of Trump's legal defense team.

“A very brief meeting where essentially

the president wanted to know —

He said, oh, you know Bob Mueller.

How well do you know Bob Mueller?

I didn't hear from him until, you know, later.

But about something different, which was

the attorney general position."

This isn't Barr's first time as attorney general.

He served under President George H.W. Bush.

He was a corporate lawyer

for many years afterward.

He's known for an expansive view

of presidential authority,

which he talked about in this memo from June 2018.

“He alone is the executive branch.

As such, he is the sole repository

of all executive powers

conferred by the Constitution.”

Whether this will impact how he handles

the Mueller report remains to be seen.