As Nadler Tries to Change the Ground Rules, Barr Threatens to Cancel His Planned Testimony Before House Judiciary Committee on Thursday

 

Attorney General William Barr is scheduled to testify voluntarily before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday about his handling of the Mueller Report.

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However, as Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler tries to change the rules, Barr has threatened to skip his appearance on Thursday.

Specifically, instead of Barr being questioned by members of the committee, Nadler would like Judiciary committee staff to ask the questions.

Fox News’ Gregg Re spoke to a DOJ official who said, “The attorney general agreed to appear before Congress; therefore Congress does the questioning.”

According to the Associated Press, “a senior Democratic committee aide said Justice officials also told the committee that they are opposed to the panel’s plan to go into a closed session if members want to discuss redacted portions of Mueller’s report.”

Talks between House Democrats and DOJ officials are expected to resume on Monday.

A spokesperson for House Judiciary Committee Republicans told Fox News:

Attorney General Barr wasn’t asked to testify before the committee—he offered. He provided the Mueller report voluntarily. He invited Democrat leaders to view the less redacted report in person. Yet the only thing, apparently, that will satisfy Democrats, who refuse to read the less redacted report, is to have staff pinch hit when a cabinet-level official appears before us.

What actual precedent is there for our committee making such demands of a sitting attorney general as part of our oversight duties? The attorney general isn’t a fact witness, and this committee’s investigations—as Democrat leadership reminds us daily—don’t constitute impeachment, so Democrats have yet to prove their demands anything but abusive and illogical in light of the transparency and good faith the attorney general has shown our committee.

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The House Democrats have found fault with nearly every move Barr has made since Robert Mueller submitted his report. They seem to ignore the fact that Barr is under no legal obligation to have released the report at all.

Frustrated over the report’s conclusion that the Trump campaign did not collude with the Russians, they have shifted over to an obstruction of justice narrative, just as Mueller intended. But as evidence of the biggest frame-up in history accumulates, continued attempts by House Democrats to search for impeachable offenses are beginning to look more and more foolish.

House Democrats have issued a subpoena to obtain an unreacted copy of the report. And Barr has agreed to make the “full report, minus grand jury material (which legally must be withheld), available to a limited group of members — an offer that Democrats have so far refused. The dispute could eventually end up in court.”

Sure looks like Nadler and company are overplaying what has become a rather weak hand. Other than continuing to push a dead narrative against President Trump, they will have no accomplishments to point to in 2020. This can’t end well for them.

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Even comedian Bill Maher agrees this is not a winning strategy.

 

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