Attorney General William Barr appeared to contradict President Donald Trump regarding reports that the Secret Service brought him down to the White House bunker for security reasons as protests raged outside the White House gates.
More than a week after it was reported that Trump was taken down to the bunker on the night of May 29, Barr mentioned the topic when he was discussing the controversial clearing of Lafayette Square during an interview with Fox News Monday night.
"On Monday [June 1], we were reacting to three days of extremely violent demonstrations right across from the White House," Barr said. "[We had] a lot of injuries to the police officers, arson — things were so bad the Secret Service recommended the president go down to the bunker and we can't have that in our country. So the decision was made: We had to move the perimeter one block and that is what we were doing."
After the original report claiming the Secret Service rushed Trump to the fortified bunker, which is said to be strong enough to withstand a direct hit from a passenger jet, made national headlines, Trump said he visited the structure during the day for an "inspection."
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