William Barr Quotes

My top priority as Attorney General is to continue the fight against violent crime, and step it up wherever needed.

Human beings are capable of great good, but also of the basest evil.

Presidential powers are not exercised by a body or group. The Constitution vests ‘all executive power’ in one and only one person – the president.

Every officer can be assured: you have the unequivocal support of the Department of Justice. We have your back, and you have our thanks.

We humans have a powerful instinct to flee from peril. It takes a special kind of courage, a deep sense of duty, and extraordinary character to overcome these impulses and – for the sake of others – to run toward the danger.

The core civil liberty that underpins our American criminal justice system is the presumption of innocence. Every person enjoys this presumption long before the commencement of any investigation or official proceeding.

Established in 2001, the Medal of Valor is our nation’s highest public safety award. Officers across the nation are nominated by their peers, but only a handful are selected to receive this honor. Traditionally, this process occurs only once a year.

Cases like Power Traders Press are just as important as cases like Mobile TeleSystems. In my view, our best cases are those that yield tangible results for everyday people.

Even in a healthy society, violence, lawlessness, and predation lie just below the surface.

Since 1992 we have made dramatic progress in reducing violent crime.

We believe that when technology providers deploy encryption in their products, services, and platforms they need to maintain an appropriate mechanism for lawful access.

While the DOJ and the SEC must be vigilant in investigating and prosecuting white-collar misconduct, we must also ensure that we are acting fairly and prudently.

It is imperative that state and local jurisdictions not scrimp on investing in law enforcement.

In the Justice Department, responsibility for overseeing and directing investigations is lodged in the department’s prosecutors.

Men are subject to powerful passions and appetites, and, if unrestrained, are capable of ruthlessly riding roughshod over their neighbors and the community at large.

When I first served as Attorney General back in the early 90s, crime was at its highest in American history, with its peak in 1992.

No society can exist without some means for restraining individual rapacity.

I have long believed that the first duty of government is to protect the safety of our citizens.

As we look back over the sweep of American history, it has been the American Presidency that has best fulfilled the vision of the Founders. It has brought to our Republic a dynamism and effectiveness that other democracies have lacked.

The value of an aware is inextricably linked to the character of the organization presenting it.

The central genius of the American Constitution lies in its use of structure to protect individual liberty. It does not rely solely, or even primarily, on grants of substantive rights.

I believe deeply that the first duty of government is providing for the personal security of its citizens. Therefore I would naturally place the highest priority on strengthening law enforcement.

Our greatest strength in our fight for justice is our people – the thousands of men and women who have dedicated their careers, often at great personal sacrifice, to working for justice in America.

Our founding fathers recognized that morality was the foundation of a successful republic.

How can it be that the homosexual movement, at one or two percent of the population, gets treated with such solicitude while the Catholic population, which is over a quarter of the country, is given the back of the hand?

Those who commit gun crimes and those who enable them should know this: We’re coming after you.

We know that the American people are only safe because our law enforcement officers face danger. We can only rest easy because they never rest. And we can only dwell in peace because they stand between us and the danger.

I mean, republics have fallen because of Praetorian Guard mentality where government officials get very arrogant, they identify the national interest with their own political preferences and they feel that anyone who has a different opinion, you know, is somehow an enemy of the state.

Only an approach combining tough law enforcement with physical, moral and educational revitalization of high-crime areas offers the prospect of a safer America.

We are a pluralistic Nation composed of very distinct groups, each bound together by ethnicity, race, or religion – each group proud of its identity and committed to its faith and traditions. Yet despite these differences, we can be bound together into a broader community.

It was once understood that resistance is a serious crime because it necessarily triggers an escalation of violence that endangers the life not only of the police office, but also the suspect.

The first Black Migration to this country was forced migration. It was the Middle Passage.

The Great Migration changed American history not just for the migrants but for all of us. It made possible American cultural milestones like the Harlem Renaissance, Chicago blues, and Motown, just to name a few.

The imperative of protecting religious freedom was not just a nod in the direction of piety. It reflects the Framers’ belief that religion was indispensable to sustaining our free system of government.

The Marshals were founded when our nation was founded and from the earliest period, one of their key tasks has been apprehension. They are our fugitive enforcers in this country.

The U.S. Attorneys who comprise the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee play a critical role in carrying out the Department of Justice’s important work, including its efforts to reduce violent crime, combat the opioid crisis, protect the most vulnerable, and enforce the rule of law.

Over time, I think, and with further appointments to the Supreme Court, I think that the Roe v. Wade opinion will fall.

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.

Police officers must act quickly to seize wrongdoers and obtain evidence while protecting themselves and bystanders. It is easy to second-guess their search-and-seizure decisions in a secure courtroom.

Nationwide injunctions not only allow district courts to wield unprecedented power, they also allow district courts to wield it asymmetrically.