Sanders voices support for voting to hold Barr in contempt

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, said at a campaign stop in Iowa on Saturday that he would vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt if he were in the House. 

“We had an attorney general of the United States who refused to come to a hearing that the House Judiciary Committee called,” Sanders said at a town hall in Perry, Iowa. 

“If I were a member of the House, I would vote to hold Attorney General Barr in contempt,” he added. “He was asked to testify, he refused to testify, he refused to provide the information that the House wanted, and that is unacceptable.” 

Sanders previously said he did not know whether Barr should resign amid calls from other presidential candidates for the attorney general to step down. 

Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and was grilled by Democrats on topics related to the Mueller report. He was scheduled to reappear Thursday but declined to do so, objecting to Democrats’ demands that he be questioned by their staff counsel.