William Barr testimony: AG slams 'demonization of police' and insists Trump ‘has not attempted to interfere’ in criminal cases
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Attorney General William Barr testified in a congressional hearing today, titled the “Oversight of the Department of Justice”, in front of the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee. The hearing started off rocky, though, after Chairman Jerry Nadler was involved in a car crash on the way to the hearing.
Mr Barr's appearance on Capitol Hill was in first in front of the House Judiciary Committee despite multiple attempts by the Democrats to get the attorney general to testify before them.
In his opening testimony, Mr Barr vehemently defended his independence from the president after facing accusations of making decisions to appease Donald Trump. Mr Barr also defended the decision for federal agents to be deployed to cities like Portland, calling demonstrators in the city “violent rioters and anarchists”.
Mr Nadler then accused the attorney general of "aiding" and "abetting" in the president's "worst failings" during his own opening statement. He accused Mr Barr of many failings while attorney general, including allowing interference into the criminal cases of Trump allies, like Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.
Democrats chose what happened with Mr Stone as one line of questioning during the hearing. Mr Barr defended his decision to recommend a lesser sentence for the Trump ally, even though he supported the man being found guilty, but Democrats accused him of making the recommendations for a smaller sentence to appease Mr Trump.
Another important moment happened when Mr Barr was questioned about former US Attorney General Geoffrey Berman of SDNY stepping down. Mr Barr admitted he publicly announced the attorney general was stepping down prior to the man agreeing to leave office. He later backtracked that statement by saying Mr Berman was "removed" from office.
One theme consistent throughout the entire hearing was Democrats' refusal to let Mr Barr answer many of their questions. Instead the Democrats would cut the attorney general off to make their own statements. At one point, Mr Barr questioned why he was asked to speak in front of the hearing if he was unable to answer questions.
Republicans, on the other hand, used their time to attack Democrats and defend the attorney general. Top Republican Jim Jordan shared a video at the start of the hearing showing misleading imagery about the protests happening across the nation. Critics accused the representative of skewing the narrative and promoting propaganda.
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Barr says the United States has to 'assume' Russia is intervening in the 2020 election
Attorney General William Barr was questioned about Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election and what could be happening during the 2020 presidential election.
Representative Cedric Richmond asked Mr Barr is Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
"Yes," the attorney general responded.
"Is Russia attempting to interfere in the 2020 presidential election?" Mr Richmond questioned.
"I think we have to assume that they are," he said.
Attorney general pushes back at Democrats refusing to let him answer their questions
The Democrats have decided to take on a consistent strategy throughout the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on Tuesday, and it involves limiting what Attorney General William Barr can respond to.
Throughout the hearing, Democrats have used their time to make statements and only offered limited moments for Mr Barr to respond.
"This is a hearing. I thought I was supposed to be heard," Mr Barr said at one point when he attempted to answer a question, only to be again cut off.
The move could backfire on Democrats with the American public because they are using the time to speak more than the actual witness.
Barr admits he announced former attorney general was stepping down prior to him agreeing to it
Attorney General William Barr was question about the resignation of Geoffrey Berman, the former Attorney General for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
He told Representative Val Demings that Mr Berman did not tell him he was stepping down prior to Mr Barr publicly making the announcement.
Mr Berman's Manhattan US Attorney's office was pursing President Donald Trump and his allies when it was announced the man would be stepping down. Reports indicated that Mr Berman initially refused Mr Barr's request to step down.
The questioning today shows that Mr Barr announced the man's resignation prior to him actually agreeing to step down.
"[Mr Berman] maybe didn't know it," Mr Barr said later in the hearing about his department releasing a statement stating Mr Berman was stepping down.
"He was removed," Mr Barr later corrected. But it was pointed out that the statement regarding Mr Berman's employment did not state he was fired or removed, it said he was stepping down, indicating it was a mutual decision by both parties.
Barr grilled on administration lawsuit to dismantle ACA amid pandemic
Rep Lucy McBath has asked Attorney General William Barr not to "gamble with my life" and swear to uphold the Affordable Care Act without a viable alternative presented by the administration as it seeks to dismantle the healthcare law at the US Supreme Court.
"Will you stop playing politics with healthcare?" she asked.
AG Barr said that Americans would continue to have access to care "based on history" but failed to answer whether he would reverse course.
Barr refuses to answer whether Justice Department will honour Supreme Court rulings on DACA and LGBT discrimination
Texas Rep Veronica Escobar asked whether the Justice Department will implement the US Supreme Court rulings on LGBT discrimination and whether DACA applications will be processed. He refused to answer though he signalled that discriminatory language against LGBT people preceded his time in office.
Rep Escobar said he could overturn it at anytime.
She was the last person to address AG Barr in a contentious hearing that rattled the attorney general and Republican allies as Democrats demanded clear answers about use of force against Portland protesters and whether he had approved law enforcement to violently clear protesters from Lafayette Park ahead of the president's controversial walk and photo op.
Four takeaways as William Barr spars with House Democrats John T Bennett with his analysis of the House Judiciary Committee's hearing with AG Barr:
Top moments from the House Judiciary Committee's hearing with AG Barr
The hearing has wrapped up with AG Barr after more than four hours of questioning from Republican and Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee.
Here are some key moments from the hearing:
AG Barr defended his independence by stating President Donald Trump "has not attempted to interfere" with any criminal cases. Mr Barr added he has "complete freedom" to do "what is right" for the Department of Justice.
Chairman Jerry Nadler accused Mr Barr of "aiding" and "abetting" the president in his "worst failings" during his opening statement. He also accused the attorney general of allowing interference into the criminal cases of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, both of whom are allies to the president.
Mr Barr defended federal agents being deployed to Portland to protect the federal courthouse while claiming tear gas was not used on protesters in Lafayette Square in Washington DC so Mr Trump could make a walk to a church nearby.
The attorney general claimed there is a "high risk" mail-in ballots could cause voter fraud in the upcoming election and states that the US has to "assume" Russia will try to interfere in the presidential election again.
Mr Barr admitted he announced former US Attorney General Geoffrey Berman of SNDY was stepping down prior to Mr Berman agreeing to step down from his position in office.
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