William Barr Is Asked About His Reputation, Goes Very Dark

Attorney General William Barr has been under the gun for his “interpretation” of the Mueller Report, in which he falsely implied to the American people that Trump was exonerated of obstruction charges, thereby setting the initial exculpatory narrative in motion. It’s a story that even now, with the actual document public, has been difficult to invalidate. In the aftermath of this debacle, Barr’s reputation has taken a major hit, and he was asked about the personal toll this career has taken on him in an interview Friday morning with CBS. The response was really something:

“I am at the end of my career,” Barr said. “Everyone dies and I am not, you know, I don’t believe in the Homeric idea that you know, immortality comes by, you know, having odes sung about you over the centuries, you know?”

Wow! “Everyone dies” is quite the defeatist way of addressing the “what about your reputation?” question, and basically implies that life is meaningless and none of this matters. I’m sure many men and women in Trump’s inner circle over the past three years have gone to some dark places, but this must be the darkest yet. Barr defended himself, sort of, but his dismal quotes weren’t done:

And as I say that’s antithetical to the way the department runs and any attorney general in this period is going to end up losing a lot of political capital and I realize that and that’s one of the reasons that I ultimately was persuaded that I should take it on because I think at my stage in life, it really doesn’t make any difference.”

This exchange is also worth highlighting:

When asked if he had any regrets for taking the job, Barr told Crawford: “No.”

“In many ways, I’d rather be back in my old life…

Do you have any regrets? No, but also, emphatically, yes.

Read the full interview transcript here, and watch some of the key excerpts, including “everyone dies,” below: