dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

Excerpt from William Barr transcript 2001…

Question:…in your own words how you came to join the Bush administration and became, through a series of steps, the Attorney General

Barr: I started off in Washington at the Central Intelligence Agency and went to law school at

night while I was working at CIA. During my tenure at CIA—1973 to ’77—the investigations of

the agency started, and I moved to the legislative counsel’s office. While I was there, George

Bush became the director of Central Intelligence, and that was my first exposure to him. During

that time, there were not only investigations that required his appearance, there was a lot of legislation that curtailed the powers of the CIA that he had to go up and testify about. That

brought me into some contact with him.

I remember the first time I actually dealt with him. It was legislation proposed by Michael

Harrington, a very left-wing representative, and Bella Abzug, that would require notifying all the

people whose mail had been reviewed by the CIA under a program called HT/Lingual. He had to

go up and testify against the legislation. I had written testimony, and I went up and sat in the seat

that’s behind the witness. Someone asked him a question, and he leaned back and said, “How the

hell do I answer this one?” I whispered the answer in his ear, and he gave it, and I thought, Who

is this guy? He listens to legal advice when it’s given.

So I had that kind of exposure to Bush—not that much. I was a junior staff person there, but

because of the intensity of the Hill oversight at the time, I guess I had more contact than I

otherwise would have.

I applied for a clerkship as I was heading for graduation, with Malcolm Wilkey, a U.S. Court of

Appeals judge on the D.C. circuit and a Houstonian. He had been U.S. attorney there as well as

the head of the criminal division of the Justice Department in the [Dwight D.] Eisenhower

administration. Wilkey took it upon himself to call Bush at the time I applied, for a reference

check. Bush said he knew me a little bit but would check further into it, and he talked to other

people about me. I guess this registered me in his mind as somebody who was at the Agency and

was clerking for an acquaintance and friend of his, Malcolm Wilkey. This is a long answer, but

it’s sort of interesting, at least the way things worked out.

I went into private practice after my clerkship, and when [Ronald] Reagan came to power, I was

on the transition, but I was involved in litigation, so I didn’t go right into the White House. After

the litigation was settled, I went over to work with the domestic policy staff. In that capacity, I

had a lot of contact with [C.] Boyden Gray during the time I was there, mainly on regulatory

kinds of issues, and we became friends.

Young: Excuse me for interrupting. Boyden Gray was at that time—

Barr: Counsel to the Vice President. I didn’t have too much contact with Bush, but I had a lot of

contact with Boyden Gray during the time I was at the White House. Then I went back to private

practice to make partner in my firm, and Bush ran. A friend of mine, who had been a co-clerk

and had worked on the NSC [National Security Council] staff and was close to Jim Baker,

named Bob Kimmitt, asked me if I would help with the Vice Presidential screening. So I got

involved in screening people on a list of potential Vice Presidential candidates.

I was down at the convention, and when all the crap hit the fan on [Danforth] Quayle, I spent

several weeks doing damage control—how to respond to different allegations that were being

made. After the election, I worked in the counsel’s office of the transition team, and the first sub

Cabinet position that they considered was the head of the Office of Legal Counsel [OLC]

because Boyden Gray thought that that was a very important job and was intent on getting

someone in that position who believed in executive authority. He asked me if I would take that position. Although I in some ways wanted a more commercial job with a little bit more

application to private practice, I thought, Oh, it’s a pretty good job actually, so I’ll take it.

So I went into the Office of Legal Counsel. I met with [Richard] Thornburgh. I had not known

Thornburgh. I was the White House’s choice, and I was acceptable to Thornburgh, and so I

started there in the administration. I believe, based on what Boyden said, that Boyden told the

President that he should appoint me as head of the OLC. He reminded the President who I was,

that I had known him since the CIA, had supported Bush over the years, and that sort of helped.

That’s a long answer.

http://web1.millercenter.org/poh/transcripts/ohp_2001_0405_barr.pdf

>>4688909

^^^Excerpt from Barr 2001 transcript describing how he joined Bush Administration

Here is the short version…

CIA 1973 to 1977 where he met Bush

As Jr. CIA staff, Barr didn't have much exposure to Bush

Barr clerked with Malcolm Wilkey DC US Court of Appeals Judge

Went into private practice after clerkship

Was on Reagan's transition team and then domestic policy staff where he had a lot of contact with Boyden Gray.

Became friends with Gray who was Counsel to the Vice President.

Went back to private practice.

Bob Kimmitt (who was close to Jim Baker) asked Barr to help with the Vice Presidential screening for Bush campaign

Worked in the counsel fo the Bush transition team

Boyden Gray asked Barr to be head of Bush's Office of Legal Counsel