Schiff goes after Barr: He lacks Giuliani’s ‘good looks and general likability’

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) jabbed at Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday, saying he has “all the duplicity” of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani “without all the good looks and general likability.”

Schiff made the comments during an appearance at a Center for American Progress event, arguing that Barr doesn’t deserve to be called attorney general and labeling him a “personal attorney” for President Trump.{mosads}

“I think Bill Barr has all the duplicity of Rudy Giuliani without all the good looks and general likability of Rudy Giuliani,” Schiff said on stage to laughs from the liberal audience.

“The most dangerous thing, I think, that Bill Barr has done is basically say that a president under investigation can make the investigation go away if he thinks it’s unfair — which, by the way, means the other 14 investigations farmed out to other offices he can also make go away.” 

Adam Schiff Roasts AG Barr: Uglier and Less Likable Than Giuliani, But Just as Shady https://t.co/SvHDJQVoJ9 pic.twitter.com/6G49tMGkfu

— Tormund XtopHodor, First of His Name (@tommyxtopher) May 22, 2019 

Earlier Wednesday, the House Intelligence panel halted a vote on whether to hold Barr in contempt of Congress after he refused to testify before the committee last week. Schiff said in a statement that the Justice Department was beginning to comply with the committee’s subpoena.

“The Department of Justice has accepted our offer of a first step towards compliance with our subpoena, and this week will begin turning over to the Committee twelve categories of counterintelligence and foreign intelligence materials as part of an initial rolling production,” he said. “That initial production should be completed by the end of next week.”

The White House has been locked in battles with various House chairmen including Schiff, with the Trump administration repeatedly resisting Democratic demands for documents and testimony related to several investigations.

Trump on Wednesday abruptly ended a meeting with Democrats at the White House and urged them to end “phony investigations” into his administration before talks can resume on issues such as infrastructure.

The president later took to Twitter to accuse Schiff and other Democratic figures of “playing … games,” arguing, “You can’t investigate and legislate simultaneously – it just doesn’t work that way.”

….But they really want a do-over! You can’t investigate and legislate simultaneously – it just doesn’t work that way. You can’t go down two tracks at the same time. Let Chuck, Nancy, Jerry, Adam and all of the rest finish playing their games….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 22, 2019