Beginning Election Night 2020 and continuing through his last days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers plundered the U.S. Capitol with two weeks to go. Axios takes you into the collapse of a president with a special series.
Episode 4: Trump flares up what is arguably the most consistent relationship in his cabinet.
Attorney General Bill Barr was behind a chair in the private dining room next to the Oval Office, looming over Donald Trump. The president was at the head of the table. It was December 1, almost a month after the election, and Barr had some keen advice to get off his chest. The president’s theories of a stolen election, Barr told Trump, were “nonsense.”
White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, and a few other aides in the room were shocked that Barr had said it – though they knew it was true. For the record, the attorney general threw in a warning that the new legal team Trump was betting on was “clownish”.
Trump angrily dragged Barr in to explain himself after seeing a groundbreaking AP story all over Twitter, with the headline, “Trump contests, says Barr there is no widespread electoral fraud.” But Barr did not deteriorate. He would be gone three weeks later.
The relationship between the president and his attorney general was perhaps the most consistent in Trump’s cabinet. And in the six months leading up to this meeting, the relationship between the two men had quietly broken up. No one was more loyal than Bill Barr. But it was never enough for Trump.
The president had become too manic even to his most loyal allies, listening increasingly to the conspiracy theorists who expressed his own views and offered an illusion, an alternate reality.
Towards the end of the summer of 2020, Trump and Barr had regular skirmishes over how to deal with the rising Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody. As the national movement unfolded, some protests had given way to violence and looting. Trump wanted the US administration to crack down on the unrest.
The president wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act and send the military to American cities. He wanted troops on the street. Some outside hardcore allies, including Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, detained him. The thankless task of pushing back fell to Barr.
Sometimes Barr was the heat shield between President and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, both of whom strongly objected to Trump’s fantasies about the US troops descending on Portland.
The president regularly called a group of national security leaders to the Oval Office, and a meeting in mid-August was particularly volatile.
From his chair behind the Resolute Desk, an excited Trump told Barr to do it something, and to do it right away – make an announcement, send the troops, something. Just go in and fix it, the president ordered. He wanted a devastating and provocative showdown.
Barr disagreed. He thought the heat in the protests was gradually diminishing. He explained law enforcement strategy and his opinion that military intervention would backfire. Federal detectives were already on the hunt for the leaders of the protests.
Besides, Barr asked, what was the endgame for adding the army to the mix? Federal troops could be stranded indefinitely in a city like Portland.
Trump grew increasingly frustrated, but Barr pushed back harder and stood in front of everyone in the room. He was ready, willing and able to be strong, he said. But, he added, we also need to be considerate.
What would these soldiers do, Barr noted. Just stand and get yelled at? Trump didn’t care. We look weak and this hurts us, he yelled. Then he put his hand on the Resolute Desk.
“Nobody supports me,” Trump shouted. “Nobody gives me any damn support.”
Trump got up and stormed out of the Oval Office into his private dining room, leaving Barr and the others behind. Barr glanced at Mark Meadows, a red-faced White House Chief of Staff, and joked, “That went well.”
Constantly headbanging about how aggressive they should be was a serious irritation in the relationship. Trump wanted displays of shock and awe on television, especially in Portland and Seattle.
Barr wasn’t a pacifist, but he thought Trump’s ideas were more aggressive than necessary. They fought all summer, and Barr later privately compared the experience to “ Groundhog Day. ” It was always Groundhog Day to explain things to Trump.
Trump ricocheted between the advice of veteran advisers such as Barr and Cipollone and the growing company of outside instigators such as Fitton, who were steadily gaining influence.
Barr publicly praised Trump. Private hurt his head. In September, Barr did everything he could to avoid the president. There was little direct contact between the two men and Barr stopped visiting Trump in the White House.
He was fed up with Trump making public statements and others doing so to increase pressure on US Attorney John Durham to bring more prosecutions or to issue a report on the Russian investigation before the election.
In mid-October, when Rudy Giuliani attempted to disclose the alleged contents of Hunter Biden’s hard drive, Trump allies began pressuring Barr to appoint special counsel to investigate his opponent’s son. Without Trump’s knowledge, the Justice Department was already investigating Hunter Biden. But Barr, in accordance with department policy, had kept the investigation secret.
Barr maneuvered to associate mainly with Meadows and Cipollone. The people around the two men could see that Barr was annoyed and frustrated with the president’s constant use.
It became easier to avoid Trump while the campaign warmed up. The president spent more time on the trail and less time spent in the Oval Office.
But Barr’s postponement ended after election day, when Trump teamed up with a string of conspiracy theorists to bolster ridiculous theories of electoral interference, arguing that Biden and the Chinese Communist Party, among others, stole the elections from him.
On Nov. 29, Trump told Fox News that Barr’s Justice Department was “missing.” Barr was furious. In fact, the attorney general had thrown the department’s precedent overboard to hasten the federal investigation into election fraud allegations. The Justice Department was not missing – there was simply no evidence of major fraud.
Barr gave an interview to AP reporter Michael Balsamo, who makes this clear on the record. It would bring things to a head.
When he went to the White House for meetings on December 1, Barr knew Balsamo’s story would go live while he was there. He soon found himself in the president’s private dining room, along with Meadows, Cipollone, Trump, and others. They sat at a long table under a glittering chandelier, amid Trump paraphernalia framed by floor-to-ceiling windows.
Trump sat in his usual chair at the head of the table, facing a huge flat screen TV with the sound low. On screen, the conspiracy-drenched One America News network played a Michigan Senate hearing on electoral fraud.
Trump had seen Balsamo’s story and he was furious. “Why would you say such a thing? You must hate Trump. There is no other reason for it. You must hate Trump,” said the president, speaking of himself in the third person.
“These things don’t come true,” Barr said to the president, who stood next to his Chief of Staff Will Levi. “The stuff these people fill your ear with is just not true.” Barr explained that if Trump wanted to dispute the election results, the president’s internal campaign lawyers should.
The Justice Department, he continued, had looked into the major allegations of fraud made by Trump’s lawyers. “It’s just bullshit,” Barr told the president. Cipollone backed Barr by saying the DOJ was investigating these allegations.
Trump pointed to the TV and asked if Barr had attended the hearing. Barr said he hadn’t. “Maybe you should,” the president said. Barr reiterated that the Justice Department did not ignore the allegations, but that Trump’s outside lawyers were doing a terrible job.
“I’m a pretty knowledgeable legal observer and I can’t fucking figure out what the theory is here,” he added. ‘It’s just scattered. It’s all over the hill and gone. ‘
“Maybe,” Trump said. “Could be.”
A week later, the New York Times reported that Barr was considering resigning. Barr’s relationship with the president became untenable, and the president listened to Sidney Powell and Giuliani instead of his White House counsel and attorney general.
Barr decided to quit before their private skirmishes took further into the public eye. Some speculated that he had quit because of the president’s increasingly questionable pardon. But that had nothing to do with it. Barr had made it clear to Cipollone that he did not want to be consulted about this post-election pardon. He did not need to hear about it until he received the official notices. The only pardon he tried to stop preemptively was for Edward Snowden.
On December 14, Trump and Barr met one-on-one in the Oval Office. Others were there with Trump when the attorney general arrived. Barr asked for the room to be cleared so they could talk privately. He outlined his reasons for stepping aside early, explaining that although they had been in a good relationship, they now disagreed on important matters.
They didn’t need a public outburst. It was time to leave while the departure could still be amicable. Barr later told his associates that the meeting was calm and rational and that he had written his letter of resignation the day before – in which the president was lavishly praised for his policy achievements.
Trump appreciated Barr’s loyalty and praise. But praise and loyalty were not enough.
About electoral fraud, Barr had told Trump what he didn’t want to hear and the president was no longer listening. It was time for Barr to go.
🎧 Listen to Jonathan Swan on Axios’ new research podcast series, “How it happen: Trump’s last stand.”
Read the rest of the “Off the rails” episodes here.
About this series: Our reporting is based on multiple interviews with current and former White House, campaign, government, and convention officials, as well as direct eyewitnesses and people close to the president. Sources have been given anonymity to share sensitive observations or details that they should not formally disclose. President Trump and other officials credited with citations and actions by others were given an opportunity to confirm, deny, or comment on reporting elements prior to publication.
“Off the rails” is reported by White House reporter Jonathan Swan, with reporting and investigation assistance from Zach Basu. It was edited by Margaret Talev and Mike Allen. Illustrations by Sarah Grillo, Aïda Amer and Eniola Odetunde.