According to the New York Post, Bill Barr, the former attorney general, believes that the federal government likely has enough evidence of wrongdoing to criminally indict former President Donald Trump. 

Barr’s comments came after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, on Friday, announced the appointment of a special counsel – Department of Justice (DOJ) official Jack Smith – to investigate Trump.

It appears that Smith will be investigating multiple issues involving Trump, including the documents dispute that resulted in the unprecedented raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and the idea that Trump or his officials interfered with the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election.

Garland claimed that he appointed Smith because “it is in the public interest” given the possible 2024 matchup between Trump and President Joe Biden, which sure does make it seem as though the appointment of a special counsel is politically motivated.

Barr weighs in

Barr gave his opinion on the matter in an interview that he did on PBS’s Firing Line on Friday.

“If the Department of Justice can show that these were indeed very sensitive documents, which I think they probably were, and also show that the president consciously was involved in misleading the department, deceiving the government, and playing games after he had received the subpoena for the documents, those are serious charges,” Barr said.

The former attorney general took things a step further by suggesting that the government “probably” does have the evidence that it needs to indict Trump. Barr, however, did admit that he is “speculating” here.

“I personally think that they probably have the basis for legitimately indicting the president,” Barr said. “I don’t know, I’m speculating. But given what’s gone on I think they probably have the evidence that would check the box.”

Trump responds

Many are arguing that this is little more than a continuation of the politically-motivated attacks that the left, using the government, has been launching on Trump for a number of years now.

Trump said as much in a statement that he made from Mar-a-Lago on Friday evening. There Trump called Garland’s announcement “appalling” and referred to the whole situation as a “witch hunt.”

Trump, however, made it clear that he is not worried about the situation. He noted that, after all the attempts by the left to get him, “they have found nothing.”

Trump argued that this suggests that he is “one of the most honest and innocent people in our country.”