Attorney General William Barr objects to testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in a closed session dedicated to redacted portions of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report, a congressional Democratic aide said on Sunday.
Barr is threatening to skip his planned appearance on Thursday, the aide told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The committee’s chairman, Jerrold Nadler, has proposed that Barr’s public testimony be followed by a second round of questioning, where sensitive matters would be discussed behind closed doors and include committee staff lawyers, a House Democratic aide told Reuters.
Barr opposes both stipulations, according to the aide.
The attorney general is also scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
A Justice Department spokeswoman did not immediately return calls for comment.
The attorney general, a Trump appointee, released a redacted version of Mueller’s report on the 22-month investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race on April 18.
The report https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-TRUMP-RUSSIA/010091HX27V/report.pdf detailed a series of actions by Trump to impede the probe, but did not make a conclusion on whether those actions constituted the crime of obstruction. It also concluded that Trump and his campaign had not engaged in criminal conspiracy with Moscow.
Was the Mueller investigation a witch hunt?
Nadler has subpoenaed the Justice Department for the full report.
The House panel’s Republicans sided with Barr, saying Democrats’ demands were unreasonable. “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,” they said in a statement.
“The witness is not going to tell the committee how to conduct its hearing, period,” Rep. jerry Nadler said on Sunday, CNN reported.
If he does not comply “we will have to subpoena him, and we will have to use whatever means we can to enforce the subpoena,” he said.
Via @Reuters: Attorney general balks at closed-door testimony on Mueller findings https://t.co/2IahW21KNTpic.twitter.com/as18Q6iQR7— bɹǝʇ ɟnɔʞ!ʇoן (@crewislife) April 28, 2019
Attorney general balks at closed-door testimony on Mueller findings: Attorney General William Barr objects to testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in a closed session dedicated to redacted… https://t.co/tns3gcjnH8 #ImpeachTrump#ImpeachKavanaugh #TheResistancepic.twitter.com/GVzqDEyIVE— Patrick (@cahulaan) April 28, 2019
Barr threatens to refuse to testify b/c of closed door sessions on redacted parts with staff lawyers from both sides, despite this occurring for hearings on Nixon, Bill Clinton, and R-led investigation into F.B.I.’s handling of HRC’s emails. https://t.co/42LUsWVHhw #hypocrisy— (((Daniel Schwartz))) (@danielone) April 28, 2019
I wrote this a week ago. Now the answer seems to be yes as reports are that William Barr won’t appear come Thursday and he won’t testify about the redacted parts even in a closed door session.Cover up?https://t.co/kXHDo1MAZE— PoliticsNow.News (@mcatty_alex) April 28, 2019
Nadler just now on Barr. “The witness is not going to tell the committee how to conduct its hearing, period.” Asked what he will do if Barr doesn’t relent, Nadler warns: “Then we will have to subpoena him, and we will have to use whatever means we can to enforce the subpoena.” https://t.co/PoOX8CoOVE— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 28, 2019
Facebook has greatly reduced the distribution of our stories in our readers’ newsfeeds and is instead promoting mainstream media sources. When you share to your friends, however, you greatly help distribute our content. Please take a moment and consider sharing this article with your friends and family. Thank you.
