Bill Barr Predicts Justice Department Is 'Taking A Hard Look' At Trump's Inner Circle On Jan. 6

Former Attorney General William Barr said the Department of Justice appears to be aggressively looking into former President Donald Trump and those close to him over their roles in the Jan. 6 attack.

Barr, who served as attorney general from February 2019 through December 2020, weighed in on the DOJ investigation into the deadly Capitol insurrection during an interview with CBS News Catherine Herridge on Friday.

Barr said that based on a federal grand jurys recent subpoenas of top Trump administration officials , it seems like prosecutors are taking a hard look at Trump and those around him regarding their actions related to the Jan. 6 attack.

It definitely is a significant event. It changes my view of whats been going on, Barr said. This suggests to me that theyre taking a hard look at the group at the top, including the president and the people immediately around him who were involved in this.

He also predicted to Herridge that prosecutors are going to try to get a ruling on the issue of executive privilege after former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone was reportedly subpoenaed by the Justice Department last week.

He described reports of Cipollones subpoena as the most significant.

He has the strongest claim to executive privilege as the counsel to the office of the president, Barr said. Thats sort of the biggest mountain for them to climb, and the fact that they lead off with that, to me, suggests that they want a definitive resolution not only on Cipollone but you know, this would affect [former White House chief of staff Mark] Meadows and some of the other people, too.

The former attorney general, who helped sow unwarranted doubts about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election results, previously told the House committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 that Trumps election fraud claims were bullshit and detached from reality.

Speaking to Herridge last week, Barr stopped short of saying thered be a way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump engaged in criminal behavior.

After the last set of hearings I said, personally, if this is what there is, as attorney general I still dont see that as a sufficient basis to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed by the president, Barr said.

You can watch Barrs interview with CBS News below.

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"CBS News","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8p1vwvWtl6T73JiExfWs1g","cache_age":86400,"description":"Former Attorney General Bill Barr says recent federal grand jury subpoenas in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot suggest that prosecutors are \"taking a hard look\" at high-ranking Trump allies and the former president himself. He also said he thinks it would be \"really bad for the party\" if Trump were the 2024 Republican nominee. Barr spoke with CBS News' Catherine Herridge in an exclusive interview Friday. \n\nCBS News Streaming Network is the premier 24/7 anchored streaming news service from CBS News and Stations, available free to everyone with access to the Internet. The CBS News Streaming Network is your destination for breaking news, live events and original reporting locally, nationally and around the globe. Launched in November 2014 as CBSN, the CBS News Streaming Network is available live in 91 countries and on 30 digital platforms and apps, as well as on CBSNews.com and Paramount+.\n\nSubscribe to the CBS News YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/cbsnews\nWatch CBS News: https://cbsn.ws/1PlLpZ7c\nDownload the CBS News app: https://cbsn.ws/1Xb1WC8\nFollow CBS News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbsnews/\nLike CBS News on Facebook: https://facebook.com/cbsnews\nFollow CBS News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbsnews\nSubscribe to our newsletters: https://cbsn.ws/1RqHw7T\nTry Paramount+ free: https://bit.ly/2OiW1kZ\n\nFor video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":360,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eAlYHZSla7U/hqdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":480,"title":"Barr calls Jan. 6 subpoenas \"significant,\" says nominating Trump would be \"really bad\" for GOP","type":"video","url":"https://action.news/watch?v=eAlYHZSla7U","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"62ef317fe4b0ecfe3f713dc4","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/william-barr-trump-jan-6_n_62ef317fe4b0ecfe3f713dc4","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,capitol-riot,william-barr,jan-6-committee,doj","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/6cd6ce9e-eb95-4e62-a9a4-f3bfc49e3bd9/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":7},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"62ef317fe4b0ecfe3f713dc4","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"capitol riot","slug":"capitol-riot","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/capitol-riot","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/capitol-riot","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/capitol-riot"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Capitol Riot","slug":"capitol-riot","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/capitol-riot"},{"name":"william barr","slug":"william-barr","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/william-barr","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/william-barr","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/william-barr"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"William Barr","slug":"william-barr","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/william-barr"},{"name":"jan 6 committee","slug":"jan-6-committee","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jan-6-committee","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jan-6-committee","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jan-6-committee"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/jan-6-committee"},{"name":" DOJ","slug":"doj","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/doj","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/doj","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/doj"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"United States Department of Justice","slug":"us-department-of-justice","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/us-department-of-justice"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">