Bill Barr blasts NY AG for 'overreach' in Trump family prosecutions

Former Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday criticized New York Attorney General Letitia James for her "overreach" in pursuing fraud charges against former President Donald Trump's children.

"It's hard for me not to conclude that this is a political hit job," Barr said, according to The Hill. "I'm not even sure that she has a good case against Trump himself but what ultimately persuades me that this is a political hit job is that she grossly overreaches when she tries to drag the children into this."

AG James announced on Wednesday she would pursue civil fraud charges against Trump and three of his children: Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump. Moreover, she seeks $250 million from them and to bar the former president and children from serving as director of any business in the state.

The New York Democrat has alleged that Trump inflated the values of his properties on his financial statements. In announcing charges, she pointed to previous prosecutions of former Trump Organization officials for a plot to avoid paying taxes on portions of the income and alleged that such corruption ran all the way to the organization's eponymous family.

Barr suggested that the inclusion of the former president's children betrayed the political nature of the charges, saying "this is his personal financial statement, prepared by the CFO. Accounting firms were involved in it... the children aren't going to know the details of that, nor are they expected in the real world to do their own due diligence and have it reviewed independently."

He further suggested the prosecution would backfire by stimulating public support for Trump.