After The Hill.TV's Krystal Ball strongly implied that Attorney General William Barr lied about part of the Mueller Report, former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova strongly denounced her insinuation, stating that Ball had "no evidence that he lied, and you know it!"
He added that Barr had come "out of retirement to serve this country" in the Justice Department and that it was not acceptable to go on "national television calling the attorney general a liar!"
DiGenova made his remarks during an April 18 discussion on Rising with Krystal & Buck on The Hill.TV. DiGenova was on the program with his wife and fellow-attorney Victoria Toensing. The program is hosted by left-wing Democrat Krystal Ball and conservative talk-show host Buck Sexton.
Here is the transcript:
Victoria Toensing: “Bill Barr said he asked [Robert] Mueller three separate times, ‘Did you base your decision on the fact that a sitting president cannot be indicted?’ and Mueller said, ‘I did not.’ Three separate times. I don’t know what’s in that report.”
Ball: “I’m just telling you what the report says. It literally says, ‘Here are the considerations that guided our obstruction of justice investigation.”
Toensing: “Is Mueller a liar?”
Ball: “I’m asking if Barr is a liar, is really the question here. It says very clearly that one of the considerations was the fact that a sitting president couldn’t –”
DiGenova: “Let me just say something right now about what you just said. Don’t you dare suggest that Bill Barr is a liar. I’ve known him for 30 years. He’s one of the finest lawyers this country has ever produced. He came back out of retirement to serve this country.”
DiGenova: “There’s not one shred of evidence that anything he said — either the other day, or now, or today — was a lie. Don’t ever say that in front of me about Bill Barr. You have no evidence that he lied, and you know it. You said he may have lied!”
Ball: “What I’m telling you is that what he said today, in the press conference, is inconsistent with what’s in the report.”
DiGenova: “That’s not a lie!”
Ball: “Okay, fine.”
DiGenova: “It’s not fine. You’re on national television calling the attorney general a liar.”
Ball: “I didn’t say that.”
DiGenova: “You suggested it very strongly.”
Ball: “Okay, I think we’re done here.”
DiGenova: “I think we are.”