Politico reports:

Attorney general nominee William Barr professed his independence from President Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying that Robert Mueller isn’t involved in a “witch hunt” and that he wouldn’t fire the special counsel without a good reason.

In his testimony, Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he didn’t think Mueller “would be involved in a witch hunt,” a term Trump has used repeatedly to deride the special counsel’s investigation into the president’s 2016 election campaign. Barr also told the committee that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions “probably did the right thing” in recusing himself from the Russia investigation — the primary reason Trump soured on Sessions.

And in response to a question of whether he would resign if Trump asked him to fire Mueller without good cause, Barr replied he “would not carry out that instruction.” [Continue reading…]