BREAKING: A.G. Barr Found In Contempt - U.S. House Hearing

The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to recommend holding Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s unredacted Russia report and underlying documents, after President Trump asserted executive privilege in a bid to protect those files from release.

Both developments represented a major escalation in the already-tense fight between the two branches of government over access to information the Justice Department says cannot be legally released.

The committee's 24-16 vote on contempt for Barr was along party lines and came after hours of debate. House leaders will now decide whether to take up the contempt citation on the House floor for a final vote. If approved, the measure would be referred to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia -- who could choose not to act. House Democrats could also pursue a lawsuit.

“We did not relish doing this, but we have no choice,” Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said after the vote, adding, "We’ve talked for a long time about approaching a constitutional crisis. We are now in it."

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A Justice Department spokeswoman, in a statement, accused Nadler of “inappropriate political theatrics” instead of working out a deal over Barr’s testimony.

“Unfortunately, rather than allowing negotiations to continue, Chairman Nadler short-circuited these efforts by proceeding with a politically motivated and unnecessary contempt vote, which he refused to postpone to allow additional time to explore discussion and compromise,” spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. #MuellerReport