On paper, Attorney General William Barr was one of President Donald Trump's most qualified Cabinet nominees, having served in the same role 20 years ago. He also looked relatively bland next to the absolute train wreck that was Trump's acting Attorney General, Matthew Whitaker.
Despite that, most Democrats never trusted him from the get-go, and only three moderate Democratic senators ended up joining with Republicans to vote for him: Sens. Doug Jones (D-AL), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Joe Manchin (D-WV).
And according to Politico, now that Barr is accused of lying to Congress to cover up elements of special counsel Robert Mueller's report unflattering to Trump, even those three senators have turned on him.
Jones, a former federal prosecutor himself and the only one of the three standing for re-election next year, proclaimed that he was "greatly, greatly disappointed" in Barr. "I also thought he would bring this institutional stability to the Department of Justice. And not be the president's personal lawyer," he said. "And he seems like he is moving and has moved toward a less independent role. That bothers me for the 12 remaining investigations out there."
Manchin, who was re-elected last year in one of Trump's strongest performing states, agreed, saying that if Mueller's complaints are true, "absolutely I have buyer's remorse. I would have made a big mistake ... It's troubling, absolutely. The difference between the interpretation between what Mueller really meant and what he intended."
Sinema, who was elected to Arizona's open Senate seat last year, has not spoken publicly about the matter, but an aide said that she is requesting a personal meeting with Barr to explain why his version of the report differs from Mueller's.
