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Article snippet: Attorney general nominee William Barr staked out differing positions from MORE’s investigation at a Senate hearing on Tuesday, demonstrating an independence that’s likely to help him win votes for confirmation. Barr praised Mueller’s credibility, saying he did not believe the Russia investigation was a “witch hunt,” and credited former Attorney General MORE with making the right choice in recusing himself from the probe. He also said the White House should not be allowed to “correct” the special counsel’s final report. Trump’s pick to be the nation’s top cop handled most of the tougher questions from Democrats, suffering few if any missteps that might have endangered his nomination in a chamber where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority and only 51 votes are needed for confirmation. Democrats came prepared to grill Barr on his past criticisms of the Mueller investigation, in particular a memo he sent to the White House and Justice Department in June describing the obstruction of justice aspect of the probe as reliant on a “fatally misconceived” theory. Barr defended the memo and described it as “narrow in scope,” asserting it opined on a specific obstruction of justice theory and did not question the core probe into Russian interference and potential collusion between Trump’s campaign and Moscow. He also said it was widely distributed, not just to individuals in the administration. “I can assure you I was not trying to ingratiate myself with anybody,” Barr told memb... Link to the full article to read more