Barr, Dems fail to reach deal on House testimony
“Nadler sabotaged his own hearing. That is sad because now Republicans and Democrats are not going to be able to question Bill Barr, who is willing to come voluntarily,” Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) said.
Collins also batted down Nadler’s claims that Barr is afraid of “skilled attorneys,” stating that he has a committee full of members who are skilled attorneys who could conduct the questioning without staff getting involved.
“Why do this to them and take their opportunity to question Bill Barr away? This is nothing more than wanting to have an impeachment-like proceeding without going through the process of impeachment,” Collins said.
On Wednesday, the Judiciary panel voted along party lines to approve a measure allowing committee staffers to question Barr for an additional hour, despite fierce objections from Republicans.
“I hope and expect that the attorney general will think overnight and will be there,” Nadler told reporters on Wednesday evening.
The developments deepen a standoff between Barr and the Democrat-led committee. Nadler had subpoenaed the Justice Department for Mueller’s full report and underlying evidence. Nadler said Wednesday the department had also told Congress it would not comply with the subpoena.
Nadler said he would move forward with contempt proceedings against Barr over the next few days if he does not meet Democrats’ demands for the full report.
“I will continue to work with the attorney general to reach a reasonable accommodation on the access to the full report and the underlying evidence — but not for much longer,” Nadler said.
“If good faith negotiations don’t result in a pledge of compliance in the next day or two, the next step is seeking a contempt citation against the attorney general,” Nadler said. “There are many questions that must be answered.”
When asked whether he would subpoena Barr for his testimony, Nadler said he would not do so on Thursday morning, noting his first priority is to obtain the full report.
Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and faced a barrage of questions on the explosive revelation that Mueller objected to his four-page memo to Congress in writing. Mueller told Barr on March 27 that his summary failed to “fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of his investigation’s findings.
Barr was supposed to testify before the House panel at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a member of the House Judiciary panel, argued in an interview on Hill.TV on Wednesday that Barr should skip the scheduled appearance.
–Updated at 6:18 p.m.
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