Attorney General William Barr will no longer testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, May 2, as Democrats voted to allow staffers to question Barr.
“It’s a shame Members of the House Judiciary Committee won’t get the opportunity to hear from Attorney General Barr this Thursday, because Chairman Nadler chose to torpedo our hearing. The attorney general gave clear, informative testimony in the Senate Wednesday, as he offered to do more than a month ago in the House tomorrow,” Republican Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement Wednesday about the scheduled hearing with Barr.
“By rejecting the chance to question Attorney General Barr or read the materials he’s provided, Democrats are trying to prolong an investigation the special counsel completed. Ultimately, though, they’re ignoring the will of the majority of Americans who want Congress to move on and secure our border and continue to strengthen our economy,” he continued.
It’s a shame Members of the House Judiciary Committee won’t get the opportunity to hear from Attorney General Barr this Thursday, because the chairman chose to torpedo our hearing. Full statement: pic.twitter.com/MwuH5JyuMU
— Rep. Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) May 1, 2019
The House Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to allow staff lawyers to question Barr, adding an extra hour to his testimony time before the committee. This comes as Barr threatened to cancel his testimony before the committee Thursday over disagreements with Democrats regarding the format for the hearing.
Attorney General William Barr testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on May 1, 2019. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)He wanted the traditional five-minute rounds of lawmakers asking him questions instead of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler’s proposal of allowing committee staffers to question Barr about their concerns.
Nadler, a New York Democrat, issued a subpoena to Barr on April 19 asking for special counsel Robert Mueller’s full, unredacted report.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) holds a news conference in New York City on April 18, 2019. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)In a letter to Barr, Nadler said he had until Wednesday to deliver the full report, adding he “cannot accept any proposal which leaves most of Congress in the dark.” Barr has already pledged to give a version of the report where the only redactions will be grand jury info, which is illegal to share, but Nadler still issued the subpoena.
Both Democrats and Republicans have called for Mueller’s report to be made public in full. Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan also said anything related to Mueller’s probe should be released to the public.
Democrats and cable news pundits have said the Mueller report is a cover-up.
Special counsel Robert Mueller walks with his wife Ann Mueller in Washington on March 24, 2019. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)By Henry Rodgers
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