William Barr, President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, is “going to be confirmed” because the “Democrats have actually caved” as a result of the “Kavanaugh effect,” former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova said Tuesday night on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”
Barr (shown above left) served as attorney general under former President George H. W. Bush. Trump nominated him in December to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
On Tuesday Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing that was astonishingly tame compared to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s chaotic confirmation hearings — which occurred before the same committee.
Although many Democratic senators and liberals activists fiercely opposed Kavanaugh, his confirmation process truly descended into chaos following the last-minute sexual assault allegations leveled against him — all of which he vehemently denied.
The FBI investigated the claims, but found no corroboration for any of them.
Kavanaugh denied the allegations unequivocally and Trump stood by his nominee. Only one GOP senator — Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski — refused to vote for Kavanaugh as the rest of the Republican senators ultimately unified around him.
The Senate confirmed Kavanaugh 50-48 on Oct. 6, 2018.
Senate Democrats suffered a resounding rebuke following the November midterm elections when Americans gave the GOP an even greater Senate majority at 53-47. DiGenova referred to this as the “Kavanaugh effect.”
“Today you saw the Kavanaugh effect. The Democrats didn’t even get close to being as obnoxious and unprofessional as they were in the Kavanaugh hearings,” diGenova told host Laura Ingraham, noting that the Democratic senators “asked some pointed questions” that mostly remained “well within” an appropriate range.
“This guy is an established, serious lawyer. He’s a scholar. He’s an intellectual,” diGenova said of Barr. “He indicated he was his own person. He would make independent judgments. It’s all you can ask from a serious person.”
“And I think the Democrats have actually caved. This is over. He’s going to be voted out of committee. He’s going to be confirmed,” diGenova predicted.
Related: Barr Is Pressed to Keep Trump at Arm’s Length
DiGenova also said that “the people in the FBI and the DOJ who conspired to deny Donald Trump his civil rights — both during the election, during the transition and after he became president when they committed those crimes — they are shaking in their boots at the thought of Bill Barr being the next attorney general of the United States.”
Military historian and political columnist Victor Davis Hanson said Barr’s predicted confirmation as the next attorney general comes at a crucial time in U.S. history. “He’s taking over a Justice Department that’s had a large number of departures and an FBI where at least 10 people have been reassigned, retired or fired.”
“So the agency has lost its reputation and so has the Department of Justice,” Hanson added, noting that it’s Barr’s “task is to re-establish the concept of equality under the law.”
“He’s a man of deep integrity and he has a really strong intellect. We need that today at the Department of Justice.”
“There’s a perception out there in America — whether it’s warranted or not — that there’s two sets of laws,” Hanson noted. “But there’s this perception that there’s no equality under the law, and that’s fatal for a democracy.”
Ingraham said she’s known Barr for more than 20 years.
“It’s clear that Barr is his own man,” Ingraham said. “He’s a man of deep integrity and he has a really strong intellect. We need that today at the Department of Justice. And he comes at a very important time in the life of all of these law enforcement agencies. He sees his job in what I think is the correct light.”
Related: Barr’s Grandson Steals the Show with His Encouraging Words
Although Barr, 68, could have retired and declined to serve as attorney general once more, “he’s doing it because he loves the country” and “wants to serve the nation,” Ingraham said.
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