WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr plans to remain in his post and won’t step down early unless President Donald Trump asks him to leave, according to a Justice Department official.
Speculation has swirled that Barr might resign this month after his latest falling-out with Trump over the attorney general’s comments that the department hadn’t found evidence of widespread voter fraud that would overturn the Nov. 3 presidential election.
The nation’s top law enforcement officer, who as one of Trump’s most loyal aides weighed in on key criminal cases important to the president — including those of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and longtime confidant Roger Stone — will be expected to resign when President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20, the official said.
The revelation on Wednesday that Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is facing a federal criminal investigation could give Barr a reason to appoint a special counsel to help oversee the probe, extending it well into the next president’s term.
Earlier this month it was disclosed that Barr named U.S. Attorney John Durham of Connecticut to be a special counsel in his ongoing investigation into the origins of the FBI’s Russia probe, ensuring that investigation won’t be shut down after Biden takes office.
