Attorney General William Barr says he is fighting for the presidency and not President Donald Trump in a new interview published on Monday.
Barr told the Wall Street Journal that his handling of Robert Mueller's report was fueled by his desire to protect the executive branch rather than personally supporting Trump.
'I felt the rules were being changed to hurt Trump, and I thought it was damaging for the presidency over the long haul,' Barr told the newspaper.
'At every grave juncture the presidency has done what it is supposed to do, which is to provide leadership and direction.
'If you destroy the presidency and make it an errand boy for Congress, we're going to be a much weaker and more divided nation,' he continued.
Attorney General William Barr (left) said his handling of the Mueller report was fueled by his desire to protect the executive branch rather than personally supporting Trump
The redacted Mueller report, released on April 18 by Barr, left some questions about the probe unanswered.
Democrats have subpoenaed the unredacted report and the evidence Mueller relied on.
Barr, who was appointed the 85th Attorney General by Trump on February 14, has refused to comply with the subpoena.
The House Judiciary Committee voted on May 8 to recommend that the full House cite Barr for contempt of Congress.
'We are now in a constitutional crisis,' Jerrold Nadler, the committee's Democratic chairman, told reporters on Monday.
The committee vote came hours after the White House asserted the seldom-used principle of executive privilege to keep the full Mueller report under wraps, even though Trump earlier allowed aides to speak with Mueller during his investigation.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a Democrat, has also subpoenaed Barr for Mueller-related documents.
After Barr disregarded the subpoena, Schiff said on Thursday the
