Barr chuckles after Wolf Blitzer insists CNN is 'fair and balanced' during interview
AG, veteran broadcaster spar over media bias, mail-in voting
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Attorney General William Barr did not appear to buy Wolf Blitzer's claim Wendesday that CNN is "fair and balanced."
At the end of a lengthy, contentious interview, the "Situation Room" host asked if Barr would return for President Trump's second term if the incumbent wins reelection, a question Barr thought was "presumptuous" for him to answer.
"Are you enjoying what you're doing?" Blitzer followed up.
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"I wouldn't use the word 'enjoy,' but it's satisfying," Barr responded with a grin.
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Blitzer then asked Barr if he "enjoyed it more the first time around" as attorney general under George H.W. Bush.
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"Well, the political climate and the media was a lot different," Barr said.
"And you had a different president, George H.W. Bush," Blitzer jumped in.
"Yeah, but the media should be fair and balanced no matter who the president is," Barr retorted. "[It] doesn't give the media license to lie the way a lot of the media is."
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"I can speak for us, we are fair and balanced," Blitzer said in defense of his network.
"OK," the attorney general reacted with a chuckle.
Earlier in the interview, Barr and Blitzer had a combative exchange on the subject of mail-in voting, with the CNN anchor suggesting the president was fueling fears of voter fraud.
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"Wolf, this is, you know, sort of cheap talk to get around the problem," Barr said, "which is a bipartisan commission chaired by Jimmy Carter and James Baker said back in 2009 that ... mail-in voting is fraught with the risk of fraud and coercion."
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Blitzer attempted to interject but was shut down by Barr, who told the anchor, "Let me talk."
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"Since that time, there have been -- in the newspapers, in networks, academic studies -- saying it is open to fraud and coercion. The only time the narrative changed is after this administration came in."