Kellyanne Conway says Trump 'works hand in glove' with Barr

Image: White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway speaks to the media in
White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway speaks to the media in the briefing room on Jan. 10, 2020. Copyright Alex Wong Getty Images file
By Allan Smith with NBC News Politics
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The top White House aide's remarks come amid blowback over the Justice Department backtracking on its sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone.

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White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway on Sunday said while President Donald Trump "works hand in glove" with Attorney General Bill Barr, Trump never asked Barr to intervene in Roger Stone's criminal case.

"The president hasn't done that," Conway told "Fox News Sunday." "He said he hasn't done it. Bill Barr said he hasn't done it. He hasn't done it. That's incredibly important."

The Justice Department on Tuesday announced it was backtracking on its sentencing recommendation for Stone, Trump's longtime confidante, hours after the president complained about the case on Twitter.

Conway said it was "disingenuous" to say presidents don't comment on criminal matters.

"The president of the United States has not asked or directed his attorney general privately to do anything in any criminal matter, including Roger Stone," she said. "Number two, he works hand in glove with the attorney general, as we all are privileged to do, on any number of matters that affect this country."

Conway's comments came after a whirlwind week for the president and attorney general, which began with the entire team prosecuting the Stone case abruptly resigning from it after the Justice Department said it planned to reduce their recommended sentence, which was for seven-to-nine years. That came after Trump tweeted that the Stone proposal was "a miscarriage of justice" and "disgraceful!"

Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec told NBC News the decision to reverse course was made prior to Trump's initial tweet. But on Thursday, Barr told ABC News in an interview that Trump's tweets about Justice Department matters "make it impossible for me to do my job."

"Public statements and tweets made about the department, about people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending in the department and about judges before whom we have cases make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the department that we're doing our work with integrity," Barr said.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement on Barr's interview that "the president wasn't bothered by the comments at all," however indicating that Trump would not curtail his tweets.

Speaking Sunday on Trump's tweets, Conway said the president didn't have a conversation with Bill Barr about the Roger Stone case, he had a conversation with the whole world."

On CNN's "State of the Union," Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, suggested Barr's comments were "unusual" but that "he does enjoy the support of the president."

Barr has made several recent moves to take control of legal matters of personal interest to Trump, multiple people familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Democrats have called for Barr's resignation in the aftermath of the Stone backpedal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Barr "has deeply damaged the rule of law," while House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Friday that Barr is "a witting accomplice to Trump's attack on the rule of law."

Meanwhile, more than 1,100 former Justice Department prosecutors and officials from both Democratic and Republican administrations signed an open letter condemning Trump and Barr over their actions with regards to the Stone case.

Barr is set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee next month.

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