Attorney General William Barr a No-Show at House Judiciary Committee Testimony

Attorney General William Barr escalated his fight with House Democrats eager to question him about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report after spending five contentious hours before a Senate panel defending President Donald Trump’s actions.

Barr denied Democrats in the House their chance to confront him face-to-face, refusing to show up for a scheduled Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday in a protest over the ground rules for questioning. The Democrats, who dramatized Barr’s absence by setting out a placard with his name in front of an empty chair, are pressing their attacks on an attorney general they accuse of acting as Trump’s personal lawyer.

Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York, who convened his committee as scheduled Thursday, said “the administration may not dictate the terms of a hearing in this hearing room.”

Barr had objected to being questioned for as long as 30 minutes by staff lawyers, a plan the Justice Department said was inappropriate for a Cabinet official. Nadler said that the extended questioning was justified “given the attorney general’s lack of candor before other congressional committees.”

Representative Doug Collins, the Judiciary panel’s top Republican, said Barr was willing to testify under a traditional format of questions from members but Nadler and the Democrats were intent on “orchestrating a circus political stunt.”

"Because they wanted it to look like an impeachment hearing, because they won’t bring impeachment proceedings," he said. Nadler adjourned the committee session after 20 minutes, as Republicans demanded time to say more.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has discouraged Democrats from talking of impeachment, at least for the time being, told reporters that she “lost sleep” after watching Barr defend Trump in his testimony Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“What is deadly serious about it is the attorney general of the United States of America was not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States,” she said. “That’s a crime.”

In response, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement that “Speaker Pelosi’s baseless attack on the attorney general is reckless, irresponsible and false.”

For Nadler, the dilemma is what steps he can take next after Barr spurned his committee. He told reporters Wednesday night that subpoenaing Barr to appear is a possibility. But it’s unclear what Democrats who control the House can do to force Barr’s appearance, as Congress has limited tools to punish him if he doesn’t comply with a subpoena.

Barr’s decision not to show up dramatically heightens tensions with the panel. The Justice Department has already missed the deadline in a committee subpoena to hand over an unredacted version of Mueller’s report as well as all the underlying evidence.

“It is urgent that we see the documents that we have subpoenaed,” Nadler said at Thursday’s hearing. He told reporters he’ll give the department “a day or two, period -- maybe by Monday” before seeking a committee vote on contempt of Congress. That could open a lengthy court fight.

On Wednesday evening, the Justice Department confirmed that it had declined to comply with the subpoena for the unredacted report.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

TICTOC ON SOCIAL:

Follow TicToc on Twitter

Like TicToc on Facebook

Follow TicToc on Instagram

Watch all of TicToc’s videos

Listen to TicToc’s podcast

Subscribe to our newsletter

TicToc by Bloomberg is global news for the life you lead. We are a 24/7 news network that covers breaking news, politics, technology, business and entertainment stories from around the globe, supported by a network of Bloomberg’s 2,700 journalists across 120 countries.