Attorney General William Barr appeared to undercut President Donald Trump’s claim that he visited the White House bunker “for inspection.”
Barr discussed the situation with Fox News anchor Bret Baier during a Monday interview, and he said that the Secret Service had recommended the president be taken to the bunker because the situation outside the White House had gotten bad enough to warrant extra precautions. (RELATED: ‘I Was There’: William Barr Fires Back At Margaret Brennan Over Lafayette Park Protest)
WATCH:
Barr was defending the decision to move the perimeter away from the White House, pushing protesters out of Lafayette Park and away from St. John’s Church, when he let slip that one detail with regard to the reason for Trump’s trip to the bunker. (RELATED: Kayleigh McEnany Turns Briefing On Its Head, Demands Answers From The Press)
“Monday, we were reacting to three days of extremely violent demonstrations. Right across from the White House, a lot of injuries to the police officers, arson,” Barr explained. “Things were so bad the Secret Service recommended the president go down to the bunker and we can’t have that in our country, so the decision was made. We had to move the perimeter one block and that is what we are doing.”
President Trump has said on several occasions that the reason he went down to the bunker was an “inspection.”
In a new interview w/ @BretBaier Attorney General Bill Barr blows up the President’s bunker claims.
Barr defended using force to clear protestors last week because in the days before, things were so bad @SecretService recommended he go to the shelter.Here’s what POTUS said: pic.twitter.com/QK6A1cNLc5
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) June 8, 2020